Restart with a Finish
by SoahOrange
Summary: Sarah is all alone in the world and she's attacked one night. Now safe in the Underground she must help the Goblin King defeat a darkness spreading over the Kingdom without being consumed herself. Rated M for language and violence. UPDATE: Latest chapter removed. The story wasn't going right, so the latest chapter has been deleted. Will be rewriting.
1. Chapter 1

Sarah sighed softly to herself as she put her favorite book of myths back on the shelf next to the others she had flipped through recently. Its red leather, gold lettered binding stood out to her more than any other book on the shelf, always drawing her eyes straight to it wherever it was located on the massive rack of shelves that lined the mythological row of the public library. She'd come here so often in her spare time reading and rereading all her favorite myths. Myths from all around the world: Asia, Africa, Greece, England, but her favorite of all was the Celtic legends she studied so frequently.

Gathering her stuff she made her way out of the familiar place and walked a few blocks down the street towards her part-time job. 18 ½ years old and she was living in the massive house her dad used to own, by herself. Two years previously there had been a wreck, Christmas Eve night. They were driving home; no one had predicted the black ice covering the roads. It had been hard to cope with; she had sunk into a depression and had refused to contact her friends for months. Hoggle had begun to become very concerned and even convinced Jareth to try and talk to her. He hadn't, but the thought of what Jareth might have said left it so he was never out of her mind. Her health had been falling, and the house itself was becoming a relic with vines. One day when she had been flipping through that favorite play of hers, it hit her like lightning; she needed to get herself together. She was on her own now, no one left in this world for her. She pulled herself up to graduate with a decent GPA enrolled in community college, and was currently working part-time for an upcoming advertising agency.

Sarah smiled politely as she entered through the heavy glass doors and up the stairs to her desk, pulling out her latest ideas for a political campaign she was assisting with. Just as she set her purse and sat down in her chair, who should arrive but her middle-age, fashion disaster, anxiety prone boss.

"Oh Sarah, thank goodness you're here! I was getting so nervous you weren't going to show up today, and I started thinking about what would happen. I mean I don't have the tools or the skills to design a campaign this big on my own. I-I-I wouldn't even know where to begin there's just so much to get done in such a short amount of time! I mean scaling, and printing, all after the actual designing and-," she started. Sarah allowed her mind to wander as the chatter prone woman rambled on, not even noticing Sarah wasn't looking at her anymore. She began to think of the Labyrinth, her friends, how much she missed the sense that she really belonged somewhere. With her family dead and only just coming out of depression, she felt the need to return to the labyrinth more than ever. Did she have that option still? She knew now how much Jareth had loved her, and she realized over time she was still head over heels for him. But even so, he was probably furious she'd left, there's no way he'd give her a second chance, right? So why did she feel a tugging so strong on her heart to return?

"Sarah? Sarah? Are you even listening to me? Oh please tell you have been, I'd hate for you to have missed any of those details! This is very important for your career do you hear me? I need that design by the end of today understand!" she said in such a violent manner I was afraid to tell her it was going to be nearly impossible.

"Yes, I'll get working on the pamphlets right away. Don't worry about a thing Marcie, I can handle it," I told her with a smile and waited until her bright pink blue dotted dress was out of sight and earshot to turn and sigh. This was going to be so much work: Brainstorming ideas, editing them, designing them, re-editing them, fitting them to the campaign bulletin, redesigning them, color scheming, finalizing, and printing. All this work to be done in one single night.

"Guess I'll be working late tonight," she said to herself and reached to her computer to begin the grueling effort of finishing by tonight's deadline.

"This is insane," she mumbled to herself as she finalized her draft and hit print. "I had to stay all the way until 12:30 just to get this out of the way. It's not as though she even needs it by tomorrow!" Sarah rubbed her face in exhaustion and reached for the warm document coming out of the machine. Done and satisfied with her work, she set the document on Marcie's desk, and smiling, headed out the door. Rain flooded down in the night sky.

"Oh it's not fair!" she exclaimed as she trudged through the dark, stormy night, with no umbrella or cover whatsoever. Her house wasn't far away, so she didn't need the car to go to work. In the dark and the rain however, it made difficult to see the right alleys she needed to turn down. Shivering from the cold she turned down another, not noticing the two gentlemen at the end of the alley laughing and stumbling blindly towards her.

"Well well well, look what we have here Steve," a man with a blonde beard said as he eyed the wet Sarah up and down, licking his lips. She shivered under his scrutiny and began to back away.

"Ah ah ah, not so fast pretty girl," Steve said from behind her and locked her hands behind her back.

"Let go of me!" Sarah yelled and began thrashing about. The bearded one laughed and stepped closer. She kicked her leg out and missed but caught Steve's calf behind her. He groaned but didn't loosen his grip.

"Looks like she's got a bit of fight in her," the beard whispered and grabbed her face in his hand, the alcohol coming off his breath dizzying Sarah's mind with a nausea that almost made her vomit. She turned her head and bit down hard on his hand, then bit a little harder and felt liquid running in her mouth. He yelled and pulled his hand back.

"Fucking bitch! She bit me!" he snarled and smacked her hard across the cheek. Sarah winced and fought to hold consciousness from the blow. Steve tightened his grip on her hands until she yelped in pain.

"This one's fun to play with," Steve whispered by her ear, she shivered in disgust.

"Get your hands on me!" she screamed and thrashed again. They laughed and the bearded one reached for her pants. Steve's hand moved down to cover her mouth and Sarah repeatedly tried to scream and kick.

"Shut up will ya," the beard said and slapped her again, his ring catching her eyebrow and ripping a gash open above it.

Her thoughts were thrown into chaos and Steve's hand slipped from her mouth for a moment as he reached over to help undo the wet jeans from her. One thing entered her mind and she screamed it just as the thunder roared through the night sky, "JARETH!"


	2. Chapter 2

She felt the nails of Steve's hand dig hard into her left wrist, scratching the surface raw, and the bearded man's weight almost crushing her. Tears fell from her eye mixing in with the rain as she braced herself, suddenly there was no pressure. She heard a scuffle and someone was thrown against a wall. There was a loud hiss from someone nearby and she heard a man scream in pain. She closed her eyes in terror and felt herself thrown onto the rough soaked asphalt. Pulling herself into a tight ball, she looked around at what was going on. In the next instant the men were running off swearing the other direction each holding what seemed to be a broken limb of some sort. Lightning flashed overhead and she saw her rescuer in the shadows. He walked towards her and she curled herself tighter. The pain from her attackers was starting to overcome the shock and she whimpered slightly. He reached towards her, warm hands caressing her face, and she winced away.

"Oh Sarah," he said quietly, the voice lulling her into her subconscious. The safety of the dark abyss. Trying to look at him, to make sure it was him, she forced her eyes open. Only to see the familiar spiked hair before passing out, the harsh water still falling on her face.

The lightning flashed again, white streaking the night sky and illuminating her face for him to see. Although darkness was hardly an issue for his eyes, he gazed at her for only a moment before sweeping her up into his arms, trying to dry her face with the edge of his cape. His eyes checked down the sides of the alley before carrying her the rest of the way to her house. He jumped easily through her window and set her down upon her (now much larger) mattress. He tossed his cape aside and rummaged through her bathroom to find a first aid kit. Returning he found her shivering on her bed from the wet clothes. Not wanting to upset her decency he cast magic over here and dried her clothes instantly. He reached over to pull her to a sitting position. She moaned something and examined her beautiful face, wishing he could see her beautiful green eyes once again. Those eyes that glowed with a fiery determination, the same ones that haunted his dreams almost every night for three and a half years.

Her eyebrow was still bleeding, her face was badly bruised on one side, and her wrist had some nasty gashes that glowed red with infection. Anger swelled through him as he saw what those two men had done to her before he'd gotten there; a shiver ran through his body as he thought of what they might of done to her had she not screamed. Jareth paused and bent his head, softly touching his lips to her eyebrow. When he pulled away nothing more than a small scar remained. He leaned again, this time pressing gently into the deep, dark purple, green bruise on her cheek; she let out a muffled yelp and flinched for a moment. Again, he pulled away it was now a lighter blue, though not quite yellow. He bent towards her again, aiming for her lips, but stopped when she winced in his grip. Her shirt was beginning to soak through with blood from behind; pulling his hand around it was covered with deep scarlet red. His mismatched eyes widened and he turned her around to look easier. There was already a rip in her shirt so he pulled a little more to widen the hole. In a small cluster four pieces of shattered glass were embedded deep in her skin, infection had probably already set it.

"You need more help than I can give Love," he whispered softly, his feelings for her hadn't lessened in the least. He turned her so she was in both his arms, her head resting against his soft white shirt. "Sarah darling," he whispered next to her ear, "I can't take you back yet; I don't have the right to." She mumbled something in her sleep but didn't wake up. "Sarah, I need you to ask me to," he almost blew into her ear. "Say it, just like before. 'Take me away to the goblin city'. Please love, I need you to say it," he pleaded, her body beginning to warm with a fever. She mumbled again, but words came through this time, "take me away from here," she paused and he held his breath in anticipation, "Jareth, please." He smiled and kissed her head, "That's close enough Dear," he answered and wrapped his arms around her, before another heartbeat, she was inside the Goblin King's private chambers.

Sarah's head ached with incomparable pain, and the rest of her felt cold to the bone. She stirred in and out of consciousness as her fever grew worse. She thought she was on her death bed because every time she opened her eyes the blurred images formed Jareth's face, sad as though he were looking at her right now. His face exactly as she remembered it, the mismatched eyes, his flying hair, his angular face. Her head spun again and she slipped back into her dark dreams, those that haunt her with pictures of the Labyrinth, her friends, even her family. Her body ached to the point of whimpering, she tussled around on the large bed; she wanted to sleep, why wasn't her body letting her? Her ears picked up murmurs of words from next to her; she strained to her what they were saying,

"She's a fighter, that infection doesn't stand a chance, but if we can't get some fluids into her, neither will she," a gargled voice said with a sad note at the end.

"She'll make it, she has to," his voice murmured, she felt a hand brush across her forehead, "her temperature's rising…" his voice trailed off and Sarah began to think he had left her when she felt herself being moved.

He wrapped his arms around her tightly, trying to keep her as warm as possible while she rested there. The goblin doctor's voice echoed in his head, "_If she doesn't get fluids in her soon, she'll burn up." _He reached over for the water and put the lip of the cup against her lips, trying to get her to drink. It ran down the sides of her mouth; she refused to swallow.

"Sarah please," he tried again pulling her lips open slightly and pouring the water in. She thrashed her head about, sputtering the water out. Jareth eyed her carefully and tightened his arm. Trying on a whim he took a drink of the water, keeping the water inside his mouth. Carefully, he pressed his lips to hers and using his tongue, softly pried her lips apart, passing the water from his mouth onto hers. She squirmed for air, but swallowed compliantly nonetheless. 'Finally,' he smiled and reached for the cup again. "Come on, you need more than that dearest," his voice coerced and bent his head towards hers again.


	3. Chapter 3

A few days later and her condition was beginning to improve rapidly. The infection was just about gone, her fever was down, and she'd stopped thrashing about when she slept. Jareth took another drink then kissed her again. 'Come on love, you're almost through this,' he thought to himself. Sarah struggled for air as a cool refreshing liquid rushed down her throat. Then, as if by magic, remembered how to swallow. Minor relief shot like a wave through her; her head ached less. She wanted more of it, relief from the misery she was trapped in, and she would fight for it. She exhaled and felt more of the water rolling down her throat. It was helping pull her from her paralyzed state. She licked her lips restlessly and arched her neck, searching for more.

"Sarah? Can you hear me?" That voice again, his voice, the one she believed only still existed in her dreams. She struggled through the raspy gravel of her voice to speak, "…Jareth?" It only came out as a whisper, but to his ears it was still as precious as silver bells. Her head throbbed as she blinked her eyes open and into focus. His grip tightened around her, watching carefully as she took in her surroundings before looking him over directly. He watched her glowing emerald eyes take in his entire face; she reached her hand up to touch him. Jareth's wrapped around hers holding it to his face.

"Am I dreaming?" she mused as her fingertips flitted across his eyelids. He smiled and kissed her palm,

"I certainly hope not love," he said as he reached over for the water glass. Leaning up she took a sip from it, then rested back in his arms, feeling more tired than she ever had in her life. Jareth didn't miss that and turned to lay her down in bed again.

"You should sleep more, then-,"he looked to see her hand gripped onto his shirt and her eyes seemed worried. "Sarah?" he inquired curiously. She hardly hesitated a moment,

"Please, don't leave me." He was about to tell her he'd be in just the next room when he saw the frightened look in her eyes. Sarah's hand tightened slightly.

"As you wish darling," he whispered quietly and kissed her head before moving so he was next to her. He leaned back against the headboard; Sarah curled up to his chest like a little girl. He absently ran his hand through her long chocolate brown hair, musing to himself.

'Why did she seem so frightened earlier? At the same time, why is she not upset or afraid of me?' Her hand tightened again, something happening in her dreams. He smirked, now curious to what she was dreaming about and materialized a crystal in his hand and held it over her head. But what he expected to see, and what he saw were two entirely opposite things.

Sarah's Dream-

Laughing and smiling Sarah passed from person to person, chatting and laughing as gaily as everyone else. She sipped something from her hand and walked over to the front door, grabbing her coat as she joined her family to leave.

"It was a splendid party! I can't wait to see you in the next year!" her step-mother called back to the hostess as they made their way through the snow towards their car. Toby began crying from the cold as they all hurried to get in and buckle up.

"Ready to head home everyone?" her dad asked as he pulled away from the lively commotion. Sarah leaned against the cool window watching the snow fall as they drove on towards home. Her thoughts drifted to the Labyrinth, wondering if it ever did snow, or if they celebrated Christmas at all. She snapped back to reality when she heard her parents arguing about a finance of some sort and it was becoming quite loud. Toby squirmed in his car seat, the noise disturbing him from his winter slumber. Her dad was becoming agitated and the car was speeding up.

"I don't care if you have to take more hours we need more money around this house!" her step-mom yelled, and in the next instant the car was spinning and jarring in the wrong direction. The squealing of the breaks, shattering glass, and the car horn all blaring through her nightmare. Sarah's thoughts froze in place and in the next moment her head smacked against the glass window, knocking her out, but the screams of her family still echoing in the dark.

Sarah tossed about and opened her eyes, confused with where she was at first.

"Are you alright?" Jareth's voice asked from behind her, his eyes clouded with worry. She sighed and nodded.

"Yeah, just a nightmare is all," she said and yawned, the yawn covering the real fear in her voice. That nightmare took a lot of energy out of her.

"Anything I can do to help?" he asked. She shook her head and buried her head into his shirt, engrossing herself in his scent to try and erase her fears. Gently he wrapped his arms around her.

"What happened in it?" he asked stroking his hand across cheek, trying to see if she'd tell him about it on her own. Her eyes looked at him with a sorrowful gaze and she asked a offset question.

"Do you celebrate Christmas down here?"

His eyes narrowed in confusion. She stretched her stiff muscles once before reburying her face into his chest. They let the silence play out between them for a few minutes before she spoke again. She played with the cloth of his shirt, rubbing it absently through her fingers while she remembered back through that night.

"They died on Christmas eve night. We were driving home from a friend's party when they started arguing. No one noticed how fast we were actually driving…no one expected black ice to be on the ground either," her voice trailed off. He heard her breath shudder and realized she was crying. In an instant he pulled her up into his arms so she was cradled against his chest.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked about it," he said pressing his face into her hair, relishing in the peach scent from her shampoo. Sarah's face fit perfectly between Jareth's neck and shoulder, making it easy to relax. Jareth looked down on her face to see she'd fallen asleep inside his strong secure hold to rest peacefully for the remaining hours of night.

**Hope you guys like it! I have quite a few Ch.(s) done already so I'm posting them all at once.  
>Please review! I know I didn't put in any lingering stuff from when she first left and I'm pretty sure Sarah's coming off as a bit of a weakling. THIS IS ONLY FOR THE BEGINNING. She's still coming out of her depression about her family so I'm tying that it. She gets better as it goes. :3 Please, give it time. <strong>


	4. Chapter 4

Dawn glowed inside the massive chamber, warm rays landing across Sarah's face. The morning air blew through the open window carrying the fresh scent of a restart, a new beginning. Birds flew by the balcony gracefully chirping little tunes to their friends. Stirring from her slumber Sarah opened her eyes and tested all of her muscles. Stiff from not being used but they weren't aching, she didn't feel as dizzy, she even wished there was food nearby. Looking around the room she felt as though she'd literally died and fallen into a fairy tale. Smooth gray stone walls, high arching ceilings, velvet tapestries hung elegantly to the sides, the shades were pulled back from the balcony letting the beautiful golden light into the room. Just off to the side of the balcony Sarah could make out flowers of unknown species covering the rail in all the colors of the rainbow. All the bureaus, doors, and tables were carved from a dark mahogany wood, each engraved with a special design all unique yet matching each other. A huge fireplace with a couple chairs sat off in the farther side of the room. Sitting up she admired the four post bed she was in, the soft silk sheets caressing down her legs, although it was large enough to hold six or seven more people. Dangling her legs off the side, she made a move to stand up when her legs gave and she began falling towards the ground. Before she hit the ground, however, a strong arm was around her waist, holding her tight against him.

"Careful love," he said his voice full of amusement at watching her catalog everything into her mind.

"You're not that strong yet," he set her down on the bed and reached over to the nightstand to uncover a silver lid now steaming with warm food. Sarah's stomach growled loudly as her mouth began watering to eat.

"How long have I been here?" she asked reaching for the toast in front of her. The first bite crunched into her mouth and tasted like heaven. Some sort of jelly had been spread on it, reminding her of peaches, but having a slightly berry aftertaste. Swallowing she looked up at the Goblin King who now stood before her, watching her with a smirk at how she'd devoured a piece of toast and was moving onto her next victim.

"Almost a week and a half now, you've been sleeping for about two days though," he said. Her eyes widened slightly, but she didn't appear to be disrupted by this fact. She did stop eating and look up at him with confused eyes.

"I don't understand. How did I get here? What happened?" she asked furrowing her eyebrows in concentration trying to remember that night's events. He watched on with keen interest as she sorted through her thoughts, he wasn't about to tell her he could hear them clearly. Someday perhaps he would tell her, but for now, it was best to remain silent.

Sarah thought back hard, trying to gather what details she could. She'd been at work, finishing a project. But why was it important when it was due? Ah, that's right, it had to be done that night. She'd finished it and had to leave around midnight, but it was pouring rain. Sarah rubbed her head in frustration.

"I know I'm missing something," she mumbled more to herself than the King standing next to her. She looked up at him, hoping his eyes would maybe give way to some improbable explanation. As if the eyes which mystified her could also magically give her understanding that she needed. Sarah closed her eyes to help her focus, only hearing Jareth's breathing and the wind. There was lightning, and an alley, one of the ones she usually walked down to get home. There were two men at the end, but they began walking towards her, she'd tried to back away, but he'd come up too quickly behind her; pinned her arms. Sarah winced and remembered the blows the man with the beard had delivered, his intoxicated breath, the ring that hit her eye, or right near it. He had been reaching for her pants, Steve had scratched her wrists trying hold onto her, she had kicked and flailed about, trying to scream. The bearded man was just about to hurt her when she'd screamed. She had screamed for Jareth.

Outside of her memory, she didn't realize she'd curled herself into a ball and was beginning to scream as well, she was reliving the nightmare of her past inside her head, and it wasn't relenting its torture towards her.

"Sarah! Sarah look at me!" Jareth's hands tried to wrap around hers, but she kicked and thrashed about, scared and frightened.

"Sarah! It's not real! Look at me!" he tried again, on the brink of pleading with her. She opened her eyes at last and stopped moving about. Tears welled up on her eyes as she finally realized what had almost happened to her.

"He-he almost h-had me," her voice came out barely above a whisper. Jareth reached over and pulled her so she was sitting in his lap. She didn't sob, she was stronger than that, but she did grip herself to him as he held her, humming a familiar tune to her.

"_There's such a sad love, deep in your eyes, a kind of pale jewel, opened and closed within your eyes, I'll place the sky within your eyes"_

Her tears stopped falling and her breathing was more evenly paced. He set her down on the bed again, glancing back at her once before he walked out of the room. He sighed and walked down a number of great halls. His castle was just as confusing as his Labyrinth, making it easy for anyone not allowed in here to get lost. Easier for him to trap them and dispose of them how he saw fit.

"Sire," a taller goblin came up to him looking a bit annoyed, "I understand how much she means to you, hell, all of us here do. But you're also our King! We need your help with things!" the goblin threw up his skinny arms in exclamation. Jareth nodded to him and began walking again, the goblin following.

"I know, and I apologize for not getting back to this sooner. Send Dangle to look after her will you? She's bound to wake up again fairly soon, she's recovered quite a bit by now." He ordered to the goblin, who bowed and scurried off quickly to do as he was told. Jareth opened the heavy wooden door he was now in front of and entered his study. Papers were scattered about in what would appear to any onlooker a disorganized mess, to him it was a delicate system never to be touched. Sorting through his massive stack of things to do he began prioritizing it all, most of these were disputes that had most likely had already been resolved without his help. Small land claim, chicken claim, or drinking issues fit nicely into this category. A larger issue at hand was a dark magic beginning to spread over his kingdom. It was contained in the Northwestern Sliding Forest for now, but it was starting to break over his barriers, it wouldn't be long before it was on the move again. Anything the "fog" touched consumed it with hatred and anger, it was deadly. If someone already had any deadly emotion already tucked into their heart the fog would intensify it. But the dark magic had a mind. Someone was behind it, controlling its movements. Some of its victims became its henchmen rather than killing the vessel off. The Goblin King looked over the Sliding Forest's map watching as the fog swam back and forth at the border, biding its special time. Jareth tossed the map aside annoyed, the medic goblins hadn't found a cure for it yet. They hadn't even found anything that worked to even slow the process. It consumed its victim so fast they didn't have hardly a thought in between the change. He set the matter aside for now and began sifting through routine matters. He checked on the trade, settled some ridiculous disputes, and was about to eat a late lunch when a messenger goblin appeared in front of him.

"What is it?" he asked with a sharp edge, he hadn't slept well of late for obvious reasons. The little goblin hesitated then said, "Moirah is down at the castle lobby asking about your decision." Jareth rubbed his temples, he'd forgotten about Moirah ever since Sarah had called for him.

"Alright, I'll go down and talk to her. Keep Sarah upstairs please, I don't want her to get the wrong impression from this," he ordered with a hint of urgency and strode off down more of the elaborate hallways.

Sarah turned around in the mirror, seeing the full design of the dark green dress the goblin, called Dangle, had picked and helped her put on. "It looks lovely miss," Dangle told her, snapping her fingers around the room to clean it with magic. Sarah looked over at Dangle with a soft smile.

"Please just call me Sarah, I'm not used to regal formalities," Sarah told her shyly. Dangle curtsied to her, "As you wish Sarah." She walked carefully around the room, running her hand over the stone and wood as she went, convincing herself this wasn't a dream any longer. She was truly here, back inside The Underground. She stepped out onto the balcony looking out at what had become of the goblin city. It was as she remembered it, order amongst chaos. Sarah's hand traced over the nearby flowers, smiling at the smooth feeling their petals gave. She felt joy spread through her and suddenly the whole aura of the Labyrinth seemed to become at peace, happy even. Out of the corner of her eye she watched as the maze began to shift itself, become even more intricate than it already was. Dangle motioned her over and placed a small hair band upon her head.

"His Majesty specifically requested that you wear this," she said straightening the ties on the corset she was wearing. Sarah looked at it in the mirror, admiring the blue and purple shine it gave in the sunlight.

"Can you show me around the castle Dangle? I'd like to see more of it." She turned her green, yellow face and gave a uneven toothy grin.

"I'd right be glad to Miss Sarah, what would ye like to see first?" she asked the miss not truly sounding formal now. Sarah answered she didn't mind anything so long as she got to see more.

They left the bedroom and began walking down a long chamber; Sarah had to hasten to keep up with Dangle's movements so she didn't get lost in the maze. They wandered up and down flights of stairs that didn't really make sense with their movements, but ended up at destinations regardless. Sarah was shown the giant kitchen where everyone's meals came from, servants and royals alike. The throne room, which was empty at this time," normally would be full of mischievous goblins making a ruckus so loud even his majesty gets annoyed," Dangle explained as they continued walking. They walked on an inside balcony and Sarah stayed to the shadows as she saw Jareth talking with a woman down below, from the sound of it the conversation wasn't going pleasant like.

"Miss Sarah, we really shouldn't be eavesdropping," Dangle whispered as Sarah crept stealthy forward to hear what they were saying. She motioned for Dangle to step back if she was worried, and tried to hear what was going on.

Jareth's expression kept calm and composed and he tried to explain to Moirah he had changed his mind. She was becoming frustratingly difficult.

"Moirah please, I told you before we started nothing was for certain. You agreed to that."

"You told me this had changed less than a month ago! You told me about how your feelings had become more for me, you told me you'd forgotten about her!" The beautiful blonde Fae argued with him, her eyes glowing an imaginable shade of pink. Her features were incomparable to any human, even Sarah felt slightly jealous of her as she looked on.

"Because you'd told me she'd died," Jareth's voice became a low hiss as he leaned in by Moirah's ear. "I was foolish enough to listen to you rather than check on it myself." Moirah stepped away and glared spiteful daggers towards him.

"Your kingdom fell to ruins because of that girl! If I hadn't been here this kingdom would have fallen a thousand times over!" she yelled and threw one of the nearby vases towards him, missing terribly.

"You think you're responsible for my kingdom's welfare?" Jareth's arms balled fists at his side. "I keep this kingdom going with my power and my magic, you had no part in my kingdom's condition," he stepped in closer to her now, "don't you ever forget that!" he hissed and stepped away, walking tensely. Sarah had quietly walked down a side staircase and was on the same floor as them only a couple of yards away.

"I helped you when she was gone, you thought she was dead and you found me, what's any different now?" Moirah asked slyly walking around so she was hardly an arm's length away. "You used me to fill those empty holes she left in you, and I still want something," she said in a low voice licking her lips in a venomous manner. Sarah's legs tensed, this Fae was going to do something.

Jareth's hand flexed at his side, it had been a mistake to ever become involved with this Fae, she was only in it for his crown and all that came with it. He fiddled absently with a crystal he had conjured in his hands, trying to calm himself down.

"It was a mistake to have invited you here, and for that I must apologize. I do admit that I had some trouble surviving right after she left, but that was no excuse for me to become involved with the likes of you," Jareth's voice was borderline menacing.

"It was a mistake?" the Fae's arm tightened and her nails grew sharper. "You're telling me it was a mistake to have me here?" she practically screamed and pulled her arm back.

"You told me you loved me, you told me nothing but lies! You are nothing but a coward and liar!" she screamed and lashed out at Jareth's face.

**Please tell me what you think! I usually put a bit more detail into argument scenes, so this is shortened for my writing. :D  
>Who wants to see more other Fae characters in the story? <strong>


	5. Chapter 5

Sarah wasn't sure what she was thinking, she wasn't sure how she did it, but she knew why did: No one was going to harm the Goblin King she missed so much. In one instant she had moved from hiding behind a pillar, listening to the argument watching Moirah's hand become a violent weapon, to standing between her and Jareth within a heartbeat. Time itself melted away as Sarah stood, eyes defiant and bright, watching Moirah's hand come closer than the inches away it already was. She took the blow unmoving as it caught her across the bare skin on her chest. She heard Jareth's breathing catch behind her, but still she stood, facing the Far head on, her head held high.

Moirah froze, eyes wide and stunned as she looked on at Sarah. She watched as the blood started to drip down her chest and looked up at her eyes. Eyes that were glaring hatred almost. Startled she fumbled backwards.

"I may have only just arrived, and I may not know what happened in the time of which you speak," Sarah took a step towards the Fae, anger flowing off her every pore, "But I will not stand here and let you speak in such a way to your King. He may have his hardships, but he's always done what's best for his kingdom first!" she stepped towards her again, the Fae fumbling backwards to the now open doors of the castle.

"You don't know what he did to this place when you left!" Moirah yelled, "He practically ruined us because of you!" Her voice straining in the argument. Goblins overhearing the commotion had begun to gather in the court, watching with interest as to what the new mistress would do next.

"He may have, I don't deny that. I've seen him act as a child throwing tantrums when he doesn't get his way. But that doesn't mean he isn't the greatest leader this Kingdom has ever seen, do you hear me?" Sarah was yelling at her now, unsure of what she was doing or saying, simply moving on what she felt. Moirah looked as though she were going to say something again, although by now she was outside the castle doors and backing her way down the path with Sarah continuing her frontal assault.

"He lied to me when he made love to me, telling me all I wanted to hear!" Moirah yelled trying to earn any ground she could. "He'll do it to you as well! You can't trust him!"

Sarah stood where she was goblins causing a commotion and uproar next to her.

"Did you misunderstand me? I'll make myself more clear shall I?" Sarah's hands balled up into fists next to her. "You are not welcome here," her voice came out hardly above a whisper.

"What did you say to me?" Moirah's eyes flashed the devil as she tried to stand again.

"You are not welcome here!" Sarah said it again but louder, Moirah screamed in annoyance and reached out to hit her, "Shut up you fucking whore! If it wasn't for you I'd have the crown, this kingdom would be mine!" But she was consumed by groups of goblins all whooping and hollering around Sarah.

"GET OUT OF HERE!" she yelled one last time, and the goblins piled onto her in a loud screech, a light shimmering under them dissipated as she teleported far away from the kingdom she'd been so thoroughly disgraced in.

Jareth exhaled the air he'd been holding in during the entire course of events. It startled him who this brown haired beauty was before him. She hardly knew him, and she didn't know much of his kingdom's history. And yet, here she was, willing to fight for him. He walked briskly outside into the bustle of commotion, saw Sarah standing a little ways down the walk.

Sarah's head swirled in an array of circles as she tried to take another step. She didn't know where that burst of energy or of courage had come from, but she knew it wasn't without a cost. Resting her hand upon her chest, she felt a surge of pain and looked to see her hand dripping with blood, there were four long gashes across her chest where Moirah had struck her, and each was beginning to burn its own intensity. She managed to turn around and start walking up the long path to the castle again. Part of the way she fumbled and fell onto the warm stones, heated by the sun. She didn't want to move, it felt to comfortable to just sit in the warm sunlight and rest. Rest, that was what she wanted.

"Miss Sara, come on," a few goblins pulled at her, "try and stand up and ye'r feet."

"Please your Highness, stand up," a few pulled some more but gave up as the King came closer.

Sarah groaned as she was pulled to her feet.

"I don't want to move," she mumbled, complaining. Jareth's arm came up under her waist supporting her as she limped inside.

"I know you don't, but I have a feeling she scratched you with more than just nails. I want to see what she possible poisoned you with, but I need you to be awake," he explained as he led her through the hundreds of halls to find the one medical room. About half-way there she fell forward almost entirely, The Goblin King held on a bit tighter. Sarah's vision was starting to blur in and out of focus, and colors were fading into the background.

"Almost there Sarah, hang on a bit longer," he asked and reached for the next wooden door. She stumbled through it and looked up towards Jareth, his face untraceable.

"Jareth…my eyes are," she paused and reached up to his face trying to make out any of his features, but all the colors were running together, "I can't see straight."

"It's probably part of the poison, temporary blindness. Should only last a couple of days at the most," he tried to sound reassuring but he knew how frightening it could be while it was happening. He helped her sit on the exam bed and snapped his fingers, summoning the medic.

"Ah, your Highness, it's good to see you up and moving about," the goblin said, he was a strange orange goblin with white fingernails. Sarah nodded politely, but remained silent.

"Moirah poisoned her. Those gashes," Jareth motioned to Sarah. The goblin poked and prodded but only came to the same conclusion that Jareth had, she was stuck with temporary blindness for a few days.


	6. Chapter 6

Sarah leaned, now entirely unseeing, on the balcony rail in her room. She traced the rail with her fingers, trying to figure the length of it in her mind. Same distance as it had been for the past two hours. She was sick of this, being such a burden to the Goblin King. Why couldn't she ever take care of herself, even in her world, she couldn't do much more than what she is here.

"Dangle," Sarah called into the open room. She heard a shuffle and a small presence come nearby. "Yes Sarah?" she asked sweetly. Sarah did he best to face the exact direction the sound was coming from, she reached down, and by luck grasped the little female goblin's hands carefully.

"I need your help. Jareth told me he doesn't know when the poison wares off, it could last for months. But please, there must be something in the Labyrinth that could fix this for me. You must know of something?" Sarah asked, pleading with her. Dangle shuffled her feet, nervous.

"I does know of a cure, but it's super difficult to get to it. His Majesty would never allow it, Sarah. Even if we could get ya out of this castle, how ya gonna manage moving about through the Labyrinth? Jareth knows everyting' that goes on, he'll notice it right soon if yer' movin about his mazes and all." Sarah bit her lip, she didn't want to be a burden to him anymore, she wanted to show him she was strong, just as determined as she used to be.

"There must be a way…" Sarah's voice trailed off trying to think of any way around it.

"There might be one way…if we could keep he'm busy for a full day, and not let he'm look at his Labyrinth even once, ee' might jus not realize it at all!" she said with excitement, her accent showing through more than usual.

Sarah looked a little doubtful at first, but as she heard the confidence in Dangle's voice and decided it'd be worth it to trust her. She took Sarah's hand and led her into the castle, careful of where Sarah was going, she took her time leading Sarah. A door opened and Sarah could hear the goblins clambering about.

"Oi! Shut yur' trabbers and listen to me!" Dangle yelled and the others immediately shut up and listened. "We gots us some big plannin' to du's, and we're gonna need a few of em' guards as escorts for Miss Sarah! Go grab the fuzzy fellar' and the foxy dog lookin' ting! The rest a ya's gets planning on keepin his Majesty busy all days long. He can be a' checkin the Labyrinth termorrow! Not once! Gots it lads?" She asked and they all howled in agreement.

"Right then! Get a move on! We ave' to get Miss Sarah out of ere' soon as she wakes up! Move out!" Dangle ordered and Sarah could feel them all disappear from the room, one by one until it was only Dangle and herself left.

"Come on then Miss Sarah, we best be getting' yous to bed, it's late. And his majesty will start to ask about you!" she grabbed for Sarah's hand and led her back through the numerous hallways. Dangle began to slow as they walked.

"Sarah, I don't know if you this, but be mindful of yer' thoughts around his Majesty, he can read minds at his will," Dangle whispered to her and Sarah heard a wooden door creak open and she was lead into her chambers once again. Dangle moved about the room, grabbing a nightgown for Sarah to sleep in after her bath.

"G'night Miss Sarah, I'll see you in the mornin'," Dangle called and shut the door behind her. Sarah stood out on the balcony, enjoy what she could feel was the soft night air. She felt herself blink and each time wished she would see the world again once around her.

"This is ridiculous," she sighed to herself and leaned her chin onto her arms, still standing at the rail.

"I've been here over a week and I can't do anything but get myself into some kind of trouble," she huffed in annoyance. 'I should see if the Library here has any books on the myths and legends of the Underground when I get my sight back,' she thought to herself and took a deep breath of the life around her, sensing the magic that coursed through the Underground into each living thing. The smells brought old memories to the surface of her last trip into the Underground. The little worm, the moving walls, the oubliette where Hoggle had saved her, the tunnel where she had challenged Jareth, the Wild Gang, the Bog of Eternal Stench, and the peach.

'That dance,' Sarah thought and drifted through her dreams of the dance she'd shared with the Goblin King, the masks of numerous people around her, the decorations lining the walls of the crystal her mind was lost in. She smiled and relaxed onto one leg when a pair of arms wrapped around her, giving her a start at first.

"Sorry Love, I thought you heard me come in," he said. She could hear the laughter playing in his voice.

"What were you thinking about?" he asked as he led her over to the bed, it was well past midnight and the entire kingdom was asleep by now. She smiled to herself and shifted around comfortably as she was laid onto the bed.

"Nothing in particular, just a dream is all," she lied and buried her face into the nearest pillow, engulfing her nose in his wonderful scent. It had a spice smell, reminding her of incense she smelled at a shop back in the other world, but it was laced lightly with the smell of leather. Wanting to intoxicate herself on it she took in another deep breath, dulling her regular senses. Before she could take another breath, however, she heard a glass shatter near the window.

"Jareth?" she asked fully upright and listening for anything. She heard his breathing and knew he wasn't hurt.

"Sorry, I dropped a crystal that's all," he said reassuringly, and she felt the bed move from his weight and he lay down upon it. Reaching out blindly he caught her hands and pulled her to him. His soft poet's shirt reeked of his addicting scent and she rubbed her face against it.

"Darling, not that I mind, but what are you doing?" he asked with a smile in his voice.

She breathed in again before answering him,

"Your scent is addicting. I feel like I'm using it as a drug." She laughed at the end, thinking how foolish she must have seemed to him. His lips pressed into her forehead.

"I suppose I can understand that," he said climbing into the red silk sheets next to her, pulling off his gloves at the same time. The shattered glass sound echoed in her ears, it wasn't like his Majesty to ever drop something, let alone miss catching it entirely. She took his hand, trying to seem subtle about it, and felt over the separate fingers. There weren't any cuts she could feel, and they didn't feel shaky as though he'd dropped it by accident. Which could only mean, he'd been looking at something in it that startled him so much it fell from his hand.

"Jareth," she said quietly, seeing if he was still awake.

"Yes?" he replied his voice lazy and on the verge of sleep. Sarah faced her head up, hoping she was looking into his eyes.

"What were you looking at in the crystal you dropped?" Her eyebrows furrowed in thought. Nothing frightened a Goblin King right? He had magic, his Labyrinth, Fae warriors, goblins flooding the castle. He was the epitome of a Dark Lord from what she had heard from Dangle's stories. He could be as cruel as he could patient. Passing servants she'd talked to told her about how incredible he could be at finding solutions to preventing war, as well as the tantrums he would throw when people refused to listen to his ideas. Some of them had indeed been frightening.

After her meeting with Moirah she asked Dangle about the dark time she had mentioned. Dangle seemed to have known Jareth for a very long time. She told Sarah it was a very harsh time for the Goblin Kingdom because he had been suffering of a broken heart, and what he felt was how the Labyrinth responded. He had violent stages that caused any one who went into the maze to be killed almost instantly. Dangle's words played back through Sarah's mind as she waited for an answer from her King.

"_He is a fantastic king, always thinking for his people. But understand, he's a fair and just king yes, but a very young one at that. He's only been king for a few hundred years, that's very short in Fae lives so to many he still appears incompetent and prone to anger fits. Moirah was possibly hired by another ruler to gain access to the crown because he's a young king, so many think he can easily be swayed in his decision. Quite the opposite in fact, when he makes a decision, he sticks with it entirely. Getting him to change his mind is what's difficult."_

Sarah listened to the night air, and his breathing. He was still awake, but he wasn't talking. It must have been something truly terrifying.

"Jareth? What is it?" she asked again, propping herself on her elbow. His hand traced down her face very suddenly, causing her to pull away at first. His thumbs passed over her eyelids lightly, sending a sharp tingly sensation through it. She squinted in pain for a minute before it passed. Blinking she opened it, her breath caught in her throat, she could see; almost. The light was opposite, she sat unmoving as she tried to understand what she was seeing.

"The light…it's all opposite," Sarah said as she sat up and began looking around the room to place things. The windows were glowing bright white even though she knew it was well into the middle of the night. She blinked and it remained the same shade. All the objects in her room in shades of blue, green, black, and other dark colors. Her head tilted as she though when it hit her like lightning.

"I'm seeing in negative," she said it as a fact. Not upset, not even annoyed.

'This'll certainly help getting about the Labyrinth now,' she thought to herself and turned to Jareth, who's face now riddled with confusion. Had he been reading her thoughts? Did he know her plan to get to the Northwest River for help? She sat rigid for moment before his face cleared.

"Negative huh? Well, that was my first attempt at a sight spell, you'll have to forgive the result," he said running his hand through his tousled locks. She breathed deeply, he didn't seem to know, nor suspect anything yet.

"I don't mind, I can see for now, even if it feels a little odd," she looked around again, trying not to be scared of the almost demon eyes Jareth now possessed towards her. Jareth stirred tiredly and lay down to sleep. Sarah, on the other hand, stood up and began walking around the room, now enchanted with the world that lay before her.

"Aren't you going to sleep?" he asked muffled by a pillow. She touched the glowing blue flower on the balcony which she knew regularly was red. It was incredible, it was an entire different understanding of the land near her. The impatient Goblin King let out a long sigh which she took as her cue to hurry the hell up. Sarah turned around to see his face pulled up into a smirk.

"What could you possibly be gloating about?" she asked as she slowly walked over to him. He reached his long arms out to her and pulled her gently onto his lap. She liked sitting her in his grasp, she felt like she belonged somewhere, that she still had someone left for her in the universe.

"That you're enjoying my mistake so much, it's amusing," he whispered rubbing his face into her hair. She rolled away from him onto the bed and snuggled up tight in the sheets. A smile spread across her face as she heard a low rumble come from Jareth while he moved closer to her. He reached around and wrapped her, almost crushing her, against him. She tried to wiggle away but he held a bit tighter.

"I lost you once, I won't make the same mistake again," he said and relaxed only slightly. Sarah turned in his arms to face him, tracing the now dark black features she was looking at with her hand.

"You won't lose me, I've no one else for me in the world," she explained and hugged him tightly before falling asleep into the night.

**Sarah's crazy, like Jareth's really going to just sit by and let her leave...right?  
>next one's a lil' shorter simply because Ch. 8 is a little longer. Exciting, Exciting! :D<br>If you guys have any events maybe you'd like to see happen let me know about them please! I'd love to try and incorporate them! **


	7. Chapter 7

Sarah dressed eagerly for the morning and began rummaging around in the closet for a sack of some sort she could fill with provisions she would be needing. Nothing seemed readily available to her dissatisfaction. She was wearing one of Jareth's smaller poet shirts that fit her nicely, with a black corset laced over. Dangle had been kind enough to even sew for her a black pair of breeches and boots, she almost looked like a female Jareth had her facial features looked different. As she hastened to pull her hair back into a low ponytail Dangle came into the room.

"Mornin' Miss Sarah, I has a pack for you all set up," she said handing over a leather shoulder bag for her to wear.

"It's got food for a couple days, an enchanted map that shows where you are all the time, medical bandages and some basic herbs, and a special whistle," she reached in and pulled out a deep scarlet red dog looking whistle.

"This whistle," she pointed it at Sarah in exasperation, "is for emergencies only! If ya blow it hid Majesty will know immediately where ya are and everyting will bees called off, understands me?" she asked with a jerk of her head. Sarah nodded.

"Good, now, let's get er' move on while his Majesty is busy in is' office," Dangle's voice sounded very hushed now and she pulled Sarah much more quickly down the halls, knowing Sarah could see where she was going now. Up and down random stairs once again followed by a couple hundred turns that should lead to nowhere.

"Hurry Miss Sarah, getting' you out of this ere castle is gonna be the hardest part," Dangle said as she was now huffing with breath at the pace she'd set out on. A few more turns took us down into what appeared was a stable of some sort. The smell of tack leather and hay met Sarah's nose in a comfortable greeting.

"I trust yous done some ridin Sarah, so I'mma be really careful and give you the fastest horse his Majesty owns," she said and walked over to a very grand looking stall, "I'mma let you ride Skylark." At the sound of his name a beautiful dapple head was peeking over the stall door with gorgeous purple eyes. To Sarah however, he appeared to have green eyes and that worried her at first. As she leaned over to pet his head she felt the air rush out of her lungs. There, on the back of this beautiful stallion were two unbelievable white wings. They opened and closed anxiously as Skylark saw Dangle gathering his tack.

"He has wings!" she exclaimed a bit startled. Dangle smiled at her and led Sky out of the stall to begin tacking him up.

"Yesir he can fly, he can do more than that. He can understand ya' when you speaks to him, it's incredibly useful," she was pulling the bitless bridle over Sky's head. Sarah stood in front of the magnificent horse, looking into his striking eyes.

"Hello Sky, my name's Sarah," he whinnied and nuzzled his nose against her as if to say, _Yes I know who you are._

"I'm going on a quest to the Northwestern River, and I need your help to get me there without Jareth noticing, you think you can do that with me?" she asked earnestly hoping that this horse would befriend her. He whinnied and nodded his head into the air then walked forward, aiming his back at Sarah, he was ready to go.

"Be careful Miss Sarah!" Dangle called once as she mounted and was beginning to trot off down a back path that would take them to the edge of the Goblin City in less than an hour.

"Don't forget about the whistle! Should ya' need help!" Dangle called once more, and before Sarah could reply Skylark burst forward into a gallop.

Sarah was filled with an exhilaration incomparable to any other in the world as Sky almost flew over the ground, she was certain her had at points with the way his wings flapped occasionally. Sarah and Sky rode together as if they had been made for each other, and she was anxious to test it in the skies.

"Not until we're out of sight from the Castle can we take flight," she had told him before they left, "Jareth can't know anything about where we are at anytime!"

Sky kept his elongated stride at an easy gallop hardly breathing harder than if he had been walking, it was so smooth and easy to ride with him, Sarah urged him on a little faster in the forest, sliding between trees at almost blurring speeds. This was going to be an incredible journey.

Jareth sighed again for the umpteenth time that day and reached out for the next document the goblin had come in with. Every second he seemed to be bothered by something, goblins having an argument, suddenly there are "important" issues to attend to, "crises" on the verge of breaking out. He rubbed his head as he thought, nothing had been routine so far and it was starting to affect him. Thinking of a crisis suddenly he reached out for the Map which displayed the Northwestern Forest to check on how the border he'd set was holding up, barely visible, but the line was still holding strong. How long could he keep it under control before all chaos broke loose?

Summoning one of his crystals he was about to look around his kingdom when Dangle burst in.

"SIRE! THE KITCHEN'S ON FIRE!" she yelled and immediately rushed down the hall. Jareth darted from where he was and followed right behind her, smelling the smoke as he neared it. He blast opened the door, not taking care to see if any goblins were behind it, and immediately shouted a clearing spell. In an instant Dangle was standing there next to what appeared a very annoyed King, who was staring at the goblin chef holding a burnt turkey. The cook gave a sheepish smile and apologized for disrupting the King over such a small issue. Jareth's jaw was set in a tight line and he left without another word.

Dangle fidgeted nervously around the kitchen as he walked away.

"Es' Majesty's in a sour mood now. I hopes Miss Sarah and Skylark are making good time," she sort of hopped over to the door, "I don't think we can keeps em' busy fur much longer," she muttered and ran off to find more chores the King could attend to.

"This is ridiculous," he muttered as he returned to his study to attend to what appeared was an entirely new stack of work the goblins had brought him.

"Why today? You've never had this many complaints in a single day ever! And now suddenly I can't get a single routine thing done!" he shouted and threw a crystal out the open window, exploding with a satisfying shatter. Jareth's breathing was a bit tense and he looked up when a soft knock came on the door.

"What is it!" he shouted, hoping the impertinent fool would go away if he knew what was good for him. It opened and a small fox looking creature stepped into the room. His Majesty immediately recognized the animal before him to be none other than the famed Sir Didymus. Jareth forced himself to relax in front of him. It wouldn't be fair to take his anger out on his loyal Colonel who had done nothing but protect his borders with the finest of Fae warriors he had.

"Ah, your Majesty," he said with a formal bow, "I came to bring you the latest report of the Southeastern regiment, I must admit it is going a bit rough in patches but we are managing well," he explained and handed forth the documents containing the day by day read out of what was going on.

Jareth's hand stayed on his eyes. This was beyond insane. In one single day he'd been asked to do things that could have been spread throughout the week, and now of all times, a regiment report comes in and he has to uphold part of his oath and go over the entire thing with the commanding officer, which thankfully was Sir Didymus who was here with him.

"Let us begin this endeavor shall we?" he said with a disturbingly fake smile on his face that made Sir Didymus shudder in fear.

"If you'd prefer your Majesty I could always bring the report in tomorrow, you did seem a little busy today," he offered politely.

Jareth shook his head.

"No, we'll work on it now. Come. Sit," his smiled spreading to the rest of his face was so disturbing Sir Didymus had to swallow to gain the courage to walk over next to him. And so began the unknown amount of time in order to finish the incredibly detailed report.

Sky had slowed to walk as they were outside the Goblin city and about to enter one of the passing villages. Sarah pulled her cape's hood up to avoid as much recognition as possible. It was highly improbable for someone to recognize her as Sarah, but she didn't think it would be overly hard to discover she was a human inside of a Goblin Kingdom. Neither did she look like a Fae, so trying to get by unwanted guests needed to be avoided as much as possible. The dusty road was warm from the evening sun shining down on the path, vendors had pulled their carts off into the shade but were still calling as loud as ever to every passerby traveling on the main road. Fish vendors, book carts, even jewelry that had been "hand-made" by the gypsies of the area. Sparkles shimmering in the sunlight caught Sarah's eye and she leaned down to peer over the vendor's stash. Only one in particular seemed to stand out to her. It was a small necklace with a crystal dangling in the middle. But what was special about it, was that inside the crystal was a white Barn Owl who's eyes seemed to watch her every move.

"One of my best works, I must say," the merchant said from behind his cart.

"Designed it after his Majesty himself, likes the look of it do ya?" he asked and held it up for her to see more clearly.

"I do actually, much for it?" she asked and rummaged through the sack Dangle had given her for some money.

The vendor looked at her, glanced at Sky only once and smiled back.

"For you My Lady, no charge. Consider it a gift to his Majesty's pride," he whispered and handed the necklace up to her. Sarah's face drained of color, she had been recognized, but the man winked at her with a friendly smile. He seemed to know she was headed somewhere, and decided it wasn't his place to ask what a girl like her was outside the castle walls for.

Sky passed through ignoring all the clashing sounds and flurry of movement going on around him.

Sarah leaned forward in the saddle up by Sky's ear.

"We should move outside of the village, the map shows it's faster to travel straight through the woods anyway. A little bit outside and flying should cut our time in half, sound ok?" she said carefully to his acute hearing. He snorted an agreement of some sort and began winding through the traveling sales people much faster than he had before. They made it through the madness together and Sarah took a deep breath once they were clear of the market.

"Easy to get lost in a bizarre mess like that," she laughed and picked up the soft leather reins in her fingers. Sky didn't truly need a bridle, he responded so easily to his rider's position and feeling, it was more for the rider's convenience. His ear twitched to acknowledge that he had heard her and he picked up his pace, easing into a light canter.

A clear straightaway lie directly before him. Sarah smiled and squeezed her legs together, excited for what was about to happen. Sky's legs moved faster and his wings started to flap, slowly at first but quickly gaining speed, they were moving so fast Sarah couldn't see her surroundings any longer. Up and down, up and down, his wings beat harder and harder, faster and faster, and, in one giant flap, they lifted off the ground.

Sarah couldn't believe the feeling coursing through her, it was better than anything she'd ever felt. So weightless and easy, so at peace yet so adrenaline rushing. Sky's ears lay down to avoid wind deafening him, and banked left to begin following the path the forest lined. His wings beat at a steady even pace and the ground beneath them was disappearing faster and faster, they would be at the start of the river by nightfall.

**...well it was kinda shorter than the last. Not by much. **

**Heheheheh, next chapter has some "fun". Does anyone notice I'm a little addicted to causing drama? :D**

**Note: I don't do that WITH ALL my stories XD...just some of them. :3**


	8. Chapter 8

The wind felt refreshing as Sarah and Sky cut through it, him performing acrobatic tricks ever once in a while when she held on tight enough. She reached her hand out, the sky seeming dark to her still, as she tried to touch the clouds. This was something she'd only ever dreamed about in the human world, and here she was, on a Pegasus, flying through the skies at unknown speed. Thankfully this saddle was built for flight so her legs were practically latched in. Sky unfortunately was beginning his descent because the skies were growing too dark for him to fly through safely, not to mention there are many other predators she'd been warned about that occupy the Underground's skies. It was a bit more difficult to land as Sky had to gallop at the same speed he was flying to touch down before he could slow down. Sarah closed her eyes, too afraid to watch as the came down so quickly she thought she would die. But, he pulled up carefully and touched down without any problems before slowing to a walk.

He shook his head, his breathing a bit harder than before.

"We're almost there, we can take a break here," Sarah said and began unlatching herself from the saddle while Sky walked over to a nearby creek to get a drink. She slid off and reached around in her leather bag for something to eat, she hadn't eaten since breakfast and her stomach wasn't letting her forget that. Finding some bread and fruit she ate, savoring the flavors while Sky grazed lightly nearby. Everything to her eyes was so bright and easy to see, she decided to continue on. Sarah remounted and they set a leisurely walking pace to finish the rest of the way.

The wandered around a few trees, and even walked through a few larger creeks, getting Sarah more wet than she would have liked. Finally, the beginning of the river came into view, glowing even to her negative sight. Sky snorted and pranced sideways, something didn't feel right to him.

"Hey, easy Sky, easy," she said calmingly and dismounted so he could wait for her there, whilst she decided to go right up to the lake herself. It didn't seem so intimidating, though her eyes made everything seem as bright as daylight. The water's edge lapped at the bank keeping a steady rhythm unlike any other.

"This must be it," she said and got down on her knees, reaching for the water and bringing it up so she could drink it.

It felt like silver sliding down her throat, heavy and metallic. She grimaced as she swallowed it, then breathing in and out, opened her eyes.

Jareth rubbed his head again. He had only JUST finished all the paperwork with Sir Didymus and here was another Goblin trying to get him to do work he'd never even heard of before.

"That's it, enough is enough. You've already had me do work that needn't be done for months and I haven't got to do ONE routine sweep of my kingdom let alone eat for heaven's sake!" his voice was full of the built up stress now ready to unleash itself on any victim.

"Get me some food, and get it now! If one more person has me do another unknown task I will cast them into the Bog of Eternal Stench myself! AM I UNDERSTOOD?" he yelled to the cowering goblin before him.

"Y-yes your Majesty," he said quaking.

"Well get moving this instant!" he ordered and threw a crystal at him, barely missing him as he rushed out the door.

He exhaled and angrily smacked his hand down on the wooden desk. The work wasn't really bothering him, it was annoying yes, but not unreasonable. What was bothering him was that despite that Sarah could see now, even if negative, she hadn't seen him once the entire day, she'd hardly even said a word to him at breakfast. Picking up a crystal he was thinking about looking for her, but if she were doing something indecent he wouldn't want to be prying, right?

He set it aside and walked over to the window, looking out over the Labyrinth in the night. Such a wondrous creation, one of the best he'd ever created. It was alive, feeding off his life and emotions, and from what he had noticed lately, Sarah's as well. She had beaten it once before and because of that it responded to her almost more than it did to the Goblin King himself. It switched suddenly and became so intricate in a corner that it would be almost impossible for any runner to have made it through.

'Odd,' he thought, 'I don't feel much different than I have all day, what could Sarah possibly be up to?' he wondered. But at the exact moment his door opened and dinner was served to him in the study.

Sarah ran as fast as her legs could carry her in the almost pitch dark of night, towards where Sky had been standing before. A loud growl erupted from behind her and she tried to run faster. "Sky!" she yelled, hoping he was somewhere in front of her, but his whinny was off to the right, she'd missed him. The beast behind her snarled and lashed his teeth out towards her, her will the only thing keeping her moving forward at the moment.

Trees and rocks, she fumbled across them all, narrowly missing her attacker by only inches every time. She could hear a large creek in front of her, wishing it couldn't swim she jumped into the icy waters and waded as fast as she could up to the other side of the bank. The noise stopped for a moment before she heard another splash and realized he was swimming across to her. She panted but turned around and continued running, praying Sky would find her. Her leg caught on a tree root and she took a nasty fall down a steep ravine. Looking up she could just make out the silhouette or the edge and realized she was stuck until someone could help her, or that thing found her and ate her.

It growled and snapped down at her, pacing along the line of the hole, debating whether or not to go down after her. Sarah used the moment to gather her breath and began using some water in the hole to wash some of the dirt off her face and hands. Her hand stung with pain, fantastic, she'd hurt another bone in her body. Jareth was never going to forgive her after this.

Her head shot up. Jareth, she could use the whistle around her neck to call for help. She didn't want to; she had wanted to prove to him that she could take care of herself sometimes. The beast barked again and leaned i's front paws in, ready to slide. Sarah looked anywhere, trying to find something to fight it off with, an escape route even. She felt around behind her and felt a metal hilt touch her fingers, a sword! She grabbed it and immediately stood facing the beast, she had a chance to live.

The hairy beast slid into the hole with her and bared it's sharp white teeth, hell-bent on killing her. She could barely see the animal but tightened her jaw nonetheless, this was her battle, and she was going to win. It jumped towards her once, which she managed to evade, then swung the blade behind her and sliced what appeared to be its hind leg. It yelped in pain then looked towards her again, its final strike, and jumped to bite her. She fell under its weight but drove the sword through the chest of the animal as she fell. Panicked she rolled out from under the creature and moved away to the far side of the hole wall, shaking. She'd done it, she'd killed the beast without help from anyone.

A glint of pride rushed through her, she stepped forward to grab the sword. She felt around again where she'd found it and felt the sheath for it too. She managed to secure it soundly enough to her waist and began to look for a way out.

"Skylark!" she called out into the night air, he had to be close by now. A few seconds later and she heard familiar hoof beats on the ledge above her.

"Sky! I'm stuck down here! See if you can find a vine or rope to get me out!" she yelled up. He whinnied back to her and she heard him rummaging around in the nearby brush to look for something. She breathed deeply and felt the weariness of what she'd just been through start to sink in. Jareth should be proud of her, after he was done being angry with her that she'd left the castle grounds without him knowing, but she'd beaten her first animal! With a sword! For a human that had to count for something right?

She saw a rope-like object fall into the hole and gripped it with both hands to start pulling herself up. Step by step she was halfway up the wall when she heard a deep growl come from below her.

"Sky pull!" she yelled and tried to scramble up the wall against gravity, feeling the force of the animal's claws right below her feet. Sarah managed to twist around and kick the beast hard in the head before she was pulled vaulting over the edge of the hole. Sky stood there wings tight and ready to fly at a moment's notice. She scrambled to her feet and hopped on, shooting off as far away from that area as they could. She reached down to strap her legs in when Sky rushed into an icy river, and they were being swept away by the current.

She began to slip from the saddle and held onto the bridle with all her might, Sky pulling his head to aim her towards the bank. Trying to fight against it Sarah's strength was rapidly leaving her, the icy water stinging her muscles so they were paralyzed. He flapped his powerful wings thrashing with all his might to get them out of the river, but Sarah's hand slipped and she began to surge towards the jagged rapids.

She was tossed underwater, sputtering when she came out, her arms and legs becoming slower and slower in their fight. Each movement harder than the previous, it seemed like water was the only thing part of this world. She fell over another rapid and tumbled painfully underwater, she fought for air pulling with everything she had up towards the looming surface.

Her head broke once and she gasped for air only momentarily before she was pulled under again. She smacked into a rock and held on for dear life, shivering from the cold, coughing lung fulls of water out into the air, and only seconds away from being pulled away again. Trembling she pulled the whistle to her lips and with her last piece of effort, blew into it with all her might.


	9. Chapter 9

Jareth froze in his tracks on his way to the throne room, the whistle's screech blasting into his ears. The images flashed through his mind, the raging river from the northwestern forest, just barely in the water he could make out a struggling figure, fighting against the current for air with everything she had in her, and slowing more and more. He turned to the nearest goblin hissing at him and threw a blast of magic so powerful at him that it caused the goblin to disintegrate. He faced the ones around him, there wasn't time to be angry at them, time was running out and in a flash he disappeared from the hall.

Sarah's legs and arms were tired and heavy, she stopped struggling as the rapids became less and less opening into a large river instead. She felt another coming on and braced herself for the impact, it stung for a moment and she began kicking towards the surface again, giving whatever was left of herself for air.

She thrashed forward reaching for a rock of sorts to cling to; she missed and was almost instantly pulled away again. Before she hit the next rapid, someone's arm grabbed hers and pulled with incredible strength, she kicked forward and with another pull from the person's arm reached the bank. She lay on her side, gasping for breath while her legs still remained in the water.

The person's arms grasped around her and pulled her entirely out of the water and onto the cold dry shore. Land, cold dry, stable land. Her lungs ached from the ice water, and the stress of survival. She could no longer feel her hands, and she didn't dare try to move her legs. Her whole body felt like a lead weight, her mind weighing the most of all. She opened her eyes to see a very angry Goblin King staring down at her, she wasn't dead yet.

She shut her eyes quickly, hoping to erase the image, she didn't want Jareth mad at her, although she knew he was going to be regardless of when she got back. His hands were balled at his side, and she thought she could see him shaking. Speaking of shaking, Sarah had begun to tremble all over the realization of how wet and frozen she was.

The clothes were soaked all the way through, practically dripping with ice sickles. A Fire crackled behind her suddenly, Jareth must have used a spell amongst her teeth shattering. It was warm and inviting behind her, but she lacked the strength to move. A marathon runner finishing his greatest race around the world would have a better chance of getting to that fire, only a few feet away, than she would. Her heart pounding was the only sound echoing in her ears, followed by the ragged breathing she was left with still.

Jareth's arms came around her, taking her away from the water's edge and sat down with her next to the fire. Needles and pins stung her face and body as blood began to resume flowing. There was a rustle in the bushes across from them and Sarah turned to see Sky with his head hanging low, not even bothering to graze. There was a silence between them as bit by bit Sarah began to have a body temperature once again.

"S-s-s-ssay so-m-m-mthi-i-ing," she chattered out, trying to use her breath to warm her hands. The fire crackled and spat once. The King's arms wrapped more tightly around her.

"What were you thinking?" he hissed, trying to restrain as much of his anger as possible, "Going off with a horse by yourself, with hardly any life skills needed out here? You could have died! Or worse, you could have fun into something that DIDN'T want you dead. Do you understand me?" he spat angrily.

She cringed into him. She knew he was right, it was dangerous and reckless. She had been stupid to try and fight off a beast on her own, going into a part of the land she'd never seen before all alone.

The water had only been a mere accident, although it was doubtful that the angry king behind here would understand it the same way. But was it so wrong to want to try to prove to him that she could make it on her own? That she was strong on her own? She was sick of feeling like a burden to him, she hadn't done anything useful since she'd been back yet. It didn't matter now, this only proved more to the cause that she couldn't.

Her muscles were pricked by a thousand needles, blood hurt when it was being reheated to the correct temperature. Changing from a congealed state back into a liquid. Letting Jareth hear her in pain would only make matters worse, so she bit her lip in silence.

It was biting at him, these feelings of anger. They weren't truly fueled by anger towards her, in truth, he was really only emotionally disturbed because he was worried. He had been frightened out of his mind that he was going to lose her, something she was keen on making him feel of late. He sighed heavily and stood up, balancing Sarah carefully enough to mount Sky.

She felt tears well up in her eyes but bit them back, she was going to be stronger than this, she was going to prove to him that she could be, no matter what it would take. In a matter of seconds Jareth was holding on to her more securely as they took off faster than she had before. That only meant they'd be back at the castle within minutes, and he would still be fuming when he returned. She wrapped herself tighter to him as they flew, afraid of what his wrath meant for her. The entire flight remained silent.

Sarah had passed out from exhaustion just before they landed on the castle grounds. The lights were still on in certain rooms, each goblin knowing their Majesty wasn't going to be merciful in the slightest when he walked in. He walked slowly up path to the door, anger wasn't the word to define him now, it lacked too much of the feeling.

The goblins hurriedly opened the door for him and remained as silent as possible, Jareth walked by at such an even pace, one would think he was going to destroy ever person in the land in a blood bath within a single night. Servants lined the halls each with their head down in guilt. Each turn brought a fresh row that Jareth simply ignored and continued to his chamber.

It was something out of a story, everyone lined up like a processional to a funeral. Heads down, somber mood, and guilt radiating off all who were there, knowing they may have been able to prevent this awful ending. He stopped outside the door and turned to face the nearby goblins, his eyes glowing like the devil himself, merciless and spiteful. One could not describe the kind of terror that shook from his mouth as he yelled to them like he never had before.

"YOU ALL KNEW THIS TOO!"

And the door was shut and locked behind him.

Dangle hobbled slowly across the kitchen tile as she carried the leftover food over to the back door to toss to the beggars. It opened with a loud SCREEECH and she tossed the trash can out with a might thrust. It was hard to bear such guilt, she felt responsible more than anyone. For it was she who had told Sarah of the river, gave her sky, and sent her on her way. Doing all this while distracting the Goblin King so he wouldn't notice his beloved's disappearance.

She wiped her face with her already damp sleeve. What was she thinking, letting Miss Sarah go off on her own? It was partially her fault that she had ended up in such a terrible state. A loud crash distracted her for a moment as a servant had dropped a dish. It was the loudest sound in the castle in hours, since they had returned. Dangle wiped her face again, crying was something she'd never been permitted to do in her life and she wasn't going to start now. Poor Miss Sarah, things can really only get better, right?


	10. Chapter 10

**Okaaaayyy, I'm sorry this one is out so late, and yes, I have more chapters done...they're being...edited as I reread and reread them. XD**

**So I'm beginning to think I'm losing my mind, and I know it feels like the story is going kinda slow, but things are going to pick up in the next few chapters kay? :D Bear with me here. Pleeeease review and tell me what you guys think! Only a couple people have and I really want to know what I can work on, considering this is the first story I've decided to publish. Anyway, back to the story!~**

Jareth paced about the warm room, trying to dissolve some of his wrath. The heavy curtains were drawn, a fire was lit, the bed had thick quilts put on, and she was still shivering. She was still too cold, what more could he do right now? In an attempt to decrease his anger he threw crystals that disappeared within inches of solid objects. It helped so far, so he was now aimlessly circulating one across his hands, trying to sort his thoughts together. Why had she been so far north to begin with? Usually when she needed something, she would just ask him. What had made now any different than before? He ran a hand through his pale mane, frustrated with himself for not noticing her absence beforehand.

"Jareth," her voice came out from the bed, filled with gravel. He raised his head, seeing green eyes looking up at him, and walked over to her side, brushing back the fallen hair from her face. There was a tear line streaking down from her eyes as she looked up at him. He didn't say anything.

"I'm sorry," she whispered with a half-choked sob, his finger brushed away her tear. The cold from her body still seeped into his hand when he touched her face. He leaned down, inches away from her lips. She was still mumbling apologies as he leaned in closer and ever so gently pressed his lips to hers. The trembling stopped suddenly. He pushed a bit harder, moving his lips against hers. She seemed hesitant at first, but within moments melted into his kiss. Deciding to keep things sweet and tender, his intentions went up in flames when she became more urgent against his mouth. Her hand reached up to intertwine itself into his blonde locks. There was a small fire growing in the pit of her stomach now. Careful of where she was laying Jareth eased himself onto the bed, hovering above her. His tongue pried at the edge of her lips, demanding entrance. She pulled back, leaving his tongue without entry into her mouth. He growled and slipped a hand behind her head, holding her securely to his face and tried slipping his tongue in again. Sarah laughed and let him part of the way into her mouth before closing her teeth and nipping lightly at his tongue. This time, it was he who pulled back.

"You're playing with fire," he warned and rubbed the side of his face against hers. She smiled and turned on her side away from him, at first just to tease. "Maybe I want to get burned," she said her voice starting to fill with sleep, so much against her will.

"Why? Still frozen underneath all those blankets?" he joked and rolled off to the side of her.

"Partially," she mumbled and snuggled up as close as she could to her heated King.

"Sarah," he said pulling back slightly, his eyes growing much more serious than she would have liked. Maybe she thought she would get out of it by hiding under the covers, but he didn't let it go, and pulled them away with a sigh.

"I'm not letting this go until you talk to me, so getting it over with now may be better," he said and sat up to wait for her explanation.

It wasn't going to be easy to tell him. Perhaps it would be a slightly less difficult than to train a lion to jump on cue when a person ate a strawberry, but not by much. Sarah weighed her options in her head, could she tunnel out of a dungeon with a spoon within a week and escape? It was a possibility she felt she should keep in her mind.

Jareth's eyes narrowed on her and she realized he was probably looking into her thoughts for an explanation. Her spoon theories were only disrupting the truth he wanted to get to. Keeping her smile hidden from his eyes she tossed around a few other ideas for him to appraise.

"Sarah," his voice came sternly. Joke time was over. She looked away ashamedly and, rather than trying to put all her feelings into words, let all her thoughts, plans, feelings flood her mind.

Everything from the talk with the other goblins, to fighting off the beast in the hole (which she still had the sword from, and which caused the most interesting face to appear on his Majesty's face). The reason she'd left; wanting to restore her sight on her own showing him she was strong enough to fight her own battles. All the joys and feelings she felt from her first flight to running for her life in the blackest woods she'd ever encountered. She lingered over the details on the pendant she'd bought, thinking about how much it reminded her of Jareth every time she looked at it. The majestic eyes so detailed it was hard to see a flaw in them. She ran through the story twice in her head, starting at the stable and ending at the river just before he had saved her.

Jareth remained silent the entire tale, carefully mulling over each thought and feeling she'd felt throughout her so-called "adventure". At first it was baffling to him why she'd left in the first place and it confused him even further when she gave him her reason. So she wanted to prove she was strong? He knew that already. She had already previously beaten the Labyrinth, lived on after her family's death, adjusted to life in the Underground, and managed to fight for him when she hardly had reasons to do so. How much stronger could a woman get?

He banished the thought quickly when he worried of the consequences, certainly Sarah could do more than that, and it stirred a flicker of new worry inside him, but he ignored it and continued looking through her mind for now.

Sky was an incredible piece of her journey, and Jareth found Sarah loved the feeling of riding all throughout. She neither complained it was taking too long, nor that he was uncomfortable to ride for such a far distance. Something told him yesterday was not going to be the end of days that she rode him, and it made him feel almost proud that she wasn't going to stop.

It interested him when she got to the part about the necklace. Each detail so clear in her mind it was as though he were looking at it himself. He loved it when she lingered on the eyes and how she described them, a part he truly loved about himself, though not saying this to other people. A trace of thought made him wonder if she had lost it during the rapids she'd fallen into, perhaps it was still in the leather bag now sitting in the corner of the room next to the fire place drying.

Sarah paused in her thoughts before continuing on about the River that healed her, the beast, and falling into the river she'd almost drowned in. Any person knew, he was going to be angry about this no matter how she thought about it.

Angry was an understatement. Jareth was almost shaking with fury as he watched her grow closer and closer to the Forest border where the darkness was hardly being held back from. He understood he hadn't told her never to go there, but it wasn't in her place to leave the castle without telling him anyway.

It all made sense when she came across the beast, Jareth openly hissed when she thought about how she'd been running for her life and fallen into the hole, still telling herself she wasn't going to call for help, and that this was her own battle to fight. Inside of him, a glimmer of pride struck when he watched her fight, but it was soon overridden by anger again when she was nearly attacked again. She was coming closer to the river's events now, and Jareth's breathing caught inside his chest.

She tried her best to think about the whole event lightly, but it didn't help. The remembrance of the cold water, how it stung it was so freezing. The cramps in her muscles as she struggled to the surface for air, and the feeling of impending doom when she swallowed mouthful after mouthful of water into her lungs. Each second she had been underwater, Sarah had thought she was going to die. But, despite that she had almost died, nothing could have dampened the feeling of joy she had when Jareth had pulled her out of the water and onto the dry, solid bank. The warmth that had spread through her when he held her tightly in his arms, forcing heat into her frozen, numb body.

Bit by bit, Jareth's anger was dissolving as Sarah continued to think about the way she'd felt when he'd rescued her. It wasn't as though he wanted to harm her, to him she had been so close to losing her again it frightened him more than anything he'd ever seen before. Battles and beasts were nothing compared to the thoughts of losing a loved one. Even with the amount of magic he possessed, not even he could bring back the dead. Sarah probably understood that more than anyone else.

He took a deep breath, followed by several more before he turned to look at her. She was hanging her head with shame, not befitting her in the slightest. His arms reached out tenderly and he pulled her into him, his grasp sure and strong.

"I'm not truly angry with you since, to be honest, it was my fault that I didn't tell where I don't want you going," he paused and pulled away to face her, thinking, "So for future reference: One, don't ever leave the castle grounds without me knowing; Two, never, I mean NEVER, going anywhere towards the Northwest Villages. Things are far too dangerous up there right now, and I don't want you anywhere near trouble for a long while if possible." Telling her about the darkness wasn't a discussion he wanted to get into at the moment, and felt it best to leave it.

She nodded in agreement and he let out the air he'd be holding in, letting her loose from his grasp as well. He pushed gently onto her shoulders, urging her to lay down and rest from everything she'd had to endure in the past few days. The softness of the large bed rushed into her senses, her toes curled involuntarily. The Goblin King slid over to her side and wrapped his arms tenderly around her, the cold all but gone from her seemingly sore muscles.

If she stayed inside the stone walls of the castle grounds, surrounded carefully by powerful Fae soldiers, surely she couldn't be caught up in danger right?

Things remained silent among the castle for a while. Goblins did their chores without complaint, and stayed as far away from his Majesty as they could. Most of Jareth's anger was reined in near Sarah, but elsewhere it broiled inside of him. Simmering angrily, it was only time until one accidental move by a goblin and there was little chance he or she would live to see another day.

He stood, arms crossed, looking out into the gardens where Sarah was sitting with a small stack of books next to her. Most of them containing nothing but myths and legends of the Underground and the Goblin Kingdom, although, some of them did contain much of his land's history, and how he ruled it.

He wondered idly if she wasn't going to like what she found, but after the way she'd defended him so readily against Moirah, he doubted he had much to fear. A small smirk crossed his lips as he remembered how dangerous Sarah had appeared, it was a memory he never would forget; as if he forgot memories anyway.

Fae in the Underground are mysterious creatures, not like the ones people hear about in books in the Aboveground. They weren't happy and gay all the time, and not compassionate or merciful. They were immune to most regular diseases, although they did have virus breeds of their own that could make them ill.

Most Fae were naturally gorgeous, and that tended to make them very egotistical and vain. Not all of them had connections with magic, it was either you were born with the talent or not, like a 50/50 chance. Even though some Fae couldn't use magic that didn't mean that they didn't have uncanny natural abilities.

Those without magic tended to be extremely gifted in things such as smarts, strategy planning, fast medical learning, welders, blacksmiths, archers, swordsmen, the list continued on and on. They all possessed immortality towards illness and age, but could be killed in battle. But, the most significant trait about Fae, they never interacted with humans.

Jareth flexed his gloved hand and materialized a crystal into his palm. He'd been resisting the event ever since Sarah got back, but was pretty certain he couldn't postpone the Goblin Ball much longer. An annual event held for hundreds of years, Fae from all over the area came in elegant gowns and danced the night away together. The ball in itself represented a treaty that had been agreed on between Jareth and another kingdom centuries ago, thanks to this event its bonds strengthened every year. The goblins in the kingdom celebrated the day too, holding parties with each other drinking away the land's beer supply, and building a giant wooden chicken to burn at the stroke of midnight.

He wasn't concerned about the other Fae and their opinions. What bothered him was how would Sarah react towards the harshness of the other Fae against her simply because she was a human. Jareth heard a knock on the door, interrupting his thought pattern, which was followed by a prompt entrance of a royal guard.

Sarah's eyes swayed back and forth, over and over as she read the tales of the Underground. Each myth was slightly connected to the other in some way. Wearing a light blue shirt, with the same pants, boots, and corset, her hair was in a single braid to stay out of her face. So engrossed in the stories her heart was accelerating whenever the tale took a turn for the worst. Four of the books she borrowed she'd already finished. Her mind was totally lost in another world of fantasy, as if she wasn't already in a fantasy world to begin with. The names of the stories threw her off at first. Titles like: Spoons of the Dead, The Haunted Pillowcase of Hollywrinkle, Clock Tower's Revenge, Nightwish Epidemic, The Kings Downfall.

The last one caught her attention more than the other's had. It told the story of a king, thousands of years before Jareth was even born, who ruled a unified kingdom and had destroyed every threat against it. Hundreds of years into his rule, however, he began to harbor jealous feelings for his brother's kingdom, and in wanting it, killed his own brother for the land. His greed grew and grew, until a pitch darkness had consumed his entire heart. People lived in terror as the darkness had a way of spreading into the hearts of others, it wasn't long until chaos had consumed the entire kingdom, innocent blood being spilled every night.

Sarah's eyes widened as she read on. Although it had been defeated and sealed away, legends have been told it waits for its perfect vessel so it may feed and spread again. One with anger and hatred in his heart, simply waiting to unleash his revenge at the perfect moment.

She put the book aside, trying to sort out her thoughts.

'But it's only a legend right? The darkness isn't really out there waiting for a vessel right? One with anger in his heart…Jareth wouldn't harbor grudges would he?'

She jumped up when she felt a hand come onto her shoulder.

"Sorry, you startled me," she said with a laugh when she saw it was Jareth standing there with a smiling inquisitive look on his face.

"I was so lost in those books I thought you were something coming after me," she explained and gathered them up into her arms to head back inside. He took a few to lighten the burden for her, really how many books could a single person go through in such a short amount of time?

"I might have, but for different reasons," he added with a whisper and kissed a soft spot just behind Sarah's ear. Shivers raced down her spine to her toes, such a thrill he could send coursing through her. It was so pleasing to him that something as small as that could affect her so wonderfully. His arm snaked around her waist as they walked back into the castle, heading to his study to eat lunch.

"I actually was going to talk to you about something Love," he paused and snapped his fingers, creating instant fire into the mantle. She hopped up onto his desk, examining one of his crystals as he sat down in his chair that resembled his throne.

"What's that your Majesty?" she said not noticing she'd suddenly slipped into formal language, and continued turning the crystal in her hands. Unthinkingly she glimpsed at it at an angle and was looking into her memory of dance with Jareth all those years ago.

He smirked as he watched her eyes glow with enchantment. It was a memory he was more fond of than she knew, but needing to talk to her, he daintily took the crystal out of her hand and crushed it into his palm. Blinking she looked back towards him, waiting for him to continue.

"There's an annual event coming up in my kingdom called the Goblin Ball. It's been held for hundreds of years to help remember a treaty set between my kingdom and a neighboring one. Fae from all over the area come to attend dressed up in, yes that's right, masquerade costumes, while enjoying the entire night dancing," he paused and cleared his voice before continuing, "I was wondering if perhaps you'd like to accompany me?"

She smiled and nodded her head, her memory overrunning her thoughts. Dancing with the king, being in his arms, remembering the song he sang to her. All the shining jewels, the elegant gowns, each person wearing a mask and trying to steal Jareth away from her, hardly succeeding once she came into sight. Her memory, relived once again, with nothing to frighten her away, no clock to race to win her brother. This could be her greatest dream come true, should it not?

"Sarah, listen dearest, there's a catch to having such a splendid time with you," he said sensing her overwhelming joy and began reaching for his food.

"Despite that I'm a Fae and nothing could ever drive me away from your side, other Fae are very vain creatures by nature, and they hate nothing more than interacting with humans," he looked seriously at her, "they aren't going to be easy to deal with. Scowls, rumors, spiteful tricks they can be very difficult to deal with. Whatever you do, keep your head held proudly and don't let anything get to you if you can help it," he finished saying and handed her a plate of food which she took gratefully.

"I was reading that in one of my books earlier, too egotistical to engage with mortals," she paused and swallowed a piece of warm juicy turkey. She took another bite before continuing,

"Simply because we can't compare in life span and beauty, they decide it's better to have nothing to do with them at all, afraid of catching mortality one author suggested. Personally, I think they're scared they'll realize we're much smarter than they give us credit for," Sarah added and resumed eating her food.

He smiled briefly at her comment before turning to the papers in front of him, his food already eaten and taken, seeing they were in fact the invitations to be address and sent for the ball, as well as the plans to be arranged. Most of the décor was reused from previous years, and the food could be made day of, Sarah's gown would need to be made, but that would hardly take any time for his seamstress goblins.

Particular with the invitations all of them needed to be handwritten, no magic to create them and send them. It was part of the custom, and it was more honorable, to write them all by hand. A way of showing other Fae the time and energy you spent on simply writing made it all worthwhile to show up at the ball.

He reached for an ink pot and began filling the papers out with an elegant scroll in a language Sarah couldn't read, but the letters did look beautiful without even knowing how to read them correctly. It almost resembled the Celtic alphabet, long swirls with dots and squiggles over different letters. It took him a few minutes but he finished the first one and set it aside, reaching for another as the fire flickered on in the silence of the room.

Sarah picked up the stiff piece of paper that you could tell was a regal invitation. Gazing over the letters she noticed the ink was laced with a purple and gold metallic color, as if representing the Goblin King himself.

'What a way to send an invitation,' she thought to herself and scanned the letters.

"What language is this Jareth?" she asked still looking over the first invitation though he'd already moved on to his fifth.

He reached for more ink, "It's called Ansel, the tongue of the Fae," and scribbled more of the elaborate script across the formal stationary.

She glanced at him, noting the circles under his were darker than usual, a sign her was sleeping less, and she moved over so that she was sitting on his lap, purposely interrupting him. Setting the pen down he wrapped his arms around her to hold up as her hand drifted back through his soft silky locks before settling down on his neck.

"Speak to me in it," she said looking earnestly in his eyes, something mischievous glinting behind them, never a good idea. He narrowed his gaze for a moment.

"Why do you look like you're planning something?" he pondered and traced a hand down her face tenderly before taking her chin and looking right into her. The words that came out of his mouth she didn't know how to spell, nor did she know what it meant, here's how it sounded:

"_Lisster fael cenn, fouer lael tael shuan,"_ his lips rolled over the letters, his natural language easy and gracefully flowing off his mouth. It was understandable now how enchantments were cast with words more often than not, even if they weren't always audible.

She listened, her eyes locked with his mismatched ones, bewitched with how he spoke to her, his hand brushing back through her soft chocolate brown hair that had fallen out of her braid. Words were power, didn't matter what world you lived in, and his were enchanting her without a magic attachment. Her eyes shut slowly as he continued speaking to her, her head now resting in the crook of his neck. He spoke softly in her ear; she was beginning to doze off in his arms, delaying his work even farther.


	11. Chapter 11

The soft beauty resting in his grasp compelled his laziness and he cast an enchantment to write the invitations. Fae were going to attend regardless if they received in an invitation hand written or not, and if someone wanted to call him out on it, by all means, they were entitled to their opinion. Without moving a muscle he teleported them back to his chambers and set her down on the bed, careful not to wake her.

Despite his efforts, she opened her eyes as he set her down. His eyes seared into hers, staring at her soul. She stood up, still facing him, and paused as his face gradually came closer to hers. Merely inches away, he hesitated, his warm breath tickling the sides of her lips.

"Sarah," his voice came, soft as a whisper, the words barely reaching her ears. The room almost seemed to spin as she stood there, the love from his one word so easily found. She breathed deep his spiced leather scent enveloping her entirely. Comforting and enticing, she yearned for more of it.

Neither one of them moved, the feeling of their closeness caused Sarah's breath to catch in her throat, though it was not unpleasant. He moved his face past her lips, trailing his mouth softly across her cheek back towards her ear, where he proceeded to give it a light nibble, just enough to cause shivers from her. Her hands tightened slightly on his arms that were around her waist, her neck craning to the side as his mouth continued, he sucked on her pulse before giving a sharp nip. She pulled back only in shock before deciding it was time to return the favor and reached up and locked her mouth tightly onto his, almost demanding entrance into his mouth.

Jareth's lips pulled up into a smile against her face before he met her kiss back with just as much determination, his hands pulling her tight to himself while Sarah's own hand was busy latching itself onto the roots of his wild blonde mane. Pulling away her breathing had already increased as his mouth slid down onto her neck, his tongue expertly dipping into the hollow of her collarbone earning a small mewl of pleasure from her, Jareth's eyes began glowing almost wickedly when he heard the noise. She coaxed his lips back up to hers and willingly let him explore the sweet hot cavern of her mouth.

Determined to hear that sound again, Jareth urged Sarah backwards bit by bit until her back was fully pressed against the cool stone wall. His mouth started moving with much more urgency than before, only to have Sarah meeting him with the same amount of passion as he was giving. Deviously, he waited until her tongue came into his mouth before gently grabbing it with his teeth and giving it a sweet hard suck. Her moan came much louder than before.

Before anything else could happen, a messenger goblin burst through the door, unknowing the fate that almost befell him. There was absolute silence aside from the slight panting coming from Sarah, her hand resting on the Goblin King's chest as he, too, was breathing a bit more. Jareth's head turned to look at the intruder, his hair blocking Sarah's view of his face and the goblin, his eyes glaring with such a ferocity that the little goblin was shaking.

"Was there something you needed?" he asked, his voice dripping with such malevolence even Sarah was mildly scared, the fire spat in the hearth, but the messenger was frozen in shock.

"Well?" Jareth asked again, his voice growing into a feral snarl, Sarah's hand tightened on his shirt, reminding him she was there. Green scabby knees simply shaking, he turned and ran so quickly he tripped over himself, scrambling even faster to get up and out, away from the menacing King as he possibly could, the sound of toenails scraping along stone scurrying away into the distance second by second.

The heavy mahogany door shut itself with a soft thud, Sarah's heartbeat was almost back to normal by now, Jareth stayed, unmoving a moment longer before pulling away. Her hand reached out quickly, grasping his face to look at her, his eyes filled with so many emotions, she wasn't sure what they all meant. She pulled herself close to him again and kissed him tenderly on the lips, the feeling of them being so connected between each other she dreaded having to pull away.

He held her face in his hands, studying her eyes, then reached down to hold her hands in his.

"Sarah," his voice came out quiet in comparison to how he had just sounded when the Goblin had interrupted them, he led them over to the sofa next to the hearth.

"What is it?" she asked trying to make any emotions out of his eyes where all she could see is despair and sorrow, he looked at her, but not at her. It felt as though he were looking at her in a memory, like he was seeing her in a dream rather than her being here with him. Remembering, something from the past.

Sarah felt confused, what thoughts could have clouded his mind so quickly between when he was kissing her to now after being interrupted? Had he already read the little Goblins mind and seen something terrible? Did it have to do with the "Darkness" that was threatening to destroy his kingdom?

Her eyebrows furrowed in further confusion, her hand tensing in to the soft fabric of the blue sleeve she was wearing. Jareth looked at her for a few moments longer before blinking and turning his pursed lips into a smile. In an instant his eyes were calmer and back to the way he had been looking at her previously in his study. Almost as if he'd put a mask on, hiding his true emotions carefully inside of himself. If things were necessary enough that he was covering up in front of her, surely something must be seriously upsetting him, but that didn't answer why he was hiding it exactly. Didn't he trust her? Of course he did, she knew he did. So why was it such a secret?

She looked away towards the window where the western sun was letting in it's gorgeous red and orange rays laced with traces of purple, matching against the ivy that was growing on the ledge outside, the flowers still in bloom even without any water.

Fidgety from thinking she stood up and walked out onto the balcony, Jareth watching bemused. Leaning over the edge, she rested her arms against the rough stone, the wind blowing softly south. Gazing up into the transforming violet sky, Sarah watched as the beginning stars began to peek out, twinkling with all their might, striving to do their best for their only purpose in life.

"What are you thinking?" she asked softly, knowing he could hear her regardless if she spoke or not, but wanting the words out in the open. He didn't speak for a minute and she wondered if he was even there anymore when he said,

"Exactly what you are."

She gripped her hands tightly, so she was right about the Darkness being on his mind.

"So why won't you tell me?" she asked, she was straining to keep rejection out of her voice. It wasn't fair of herself to feel rejected over something so small, it was his kingdom, he was allowed to rule it as he saw fit, and she had only recently come back into his life, it wasn't as though she was entailed into all of his dreams, wishes, fears, and hopes just like that.

She tried to focus her eyes on anything in the distance, perhaps it would help her keep her feelings checked in more.

His face was pressed into the back of her neck, his arms securely around his waist, reminding himself that she was here, this wasn't a dream, or a nightmare which was more probable anyway.

"It's something I wish you never have to deal with Darling, for now, it's my struggle to bear," he said, the last word coming out as though it pained him to speak about it.

She turned facing him, her eyes full of life suddenly.

"Let me help you bear it, you don't have to go through things on your own anymore," he let go of her and walked away a few steps, crossing his arms.

"I don't want you involved in this," he said, his tone final. She wasn't going to have any of his stubbornness. She was here for him now, and she was going to make him know it.

"I know how things were after I left, and I can't tell you how sorry I am that I put you into such misery. But please, I'm here now, I want to help you. Please, don't shut me out like you do everyone else, I've seen the mask you wear," she walked towards him but stopped when his hands were balled at his side.

"You don't know what I've been through Sarah," he said, his voice turning more violent, "You don't know the suffering I had to endure, nor the pain of putting it back together after I'd ruined it all on my own! What precious blood was spilled because I didn't get my way! The darkness that became a part of me…"

She took a deep breath.

"No I don't, I wasn't here during that time, and I've really only heard stories about how horrifying it truly was. But I do know part of who you are now, and I know that part has grown more responsible than that, you aren't the demon you make yourself out to be!"

His eyes flashed towards her, the leather tight against his almost shaking fists.

"You don't understand, you can't even comprehend!"

"I WOULD if you just TOLD me!" she yelled, trying to get some logic into his head, "Whatever that goblin told you, was more than enough to set you off, but I want to help you! Please, just tell me what's wrong?"

She took a nervous step towards him when his hand came out and smashed into the side of the castle, she froze in her tracks.

"You don't know what I've done Sarah," his voice was hardly above a whisper and she barely caught the words when he said them.

Sarah didn't want to lose this conflict, not when she'd made it this far, neither did Jareth as he turned and jumped off the ledge, transfiguring into an owl and flying off around the castle. She dug her nails into her palm, frustrated. All she wanted to do was help, and he wouldn't even allow that. About to head inside, she froze when she heard her name called from inside her room.

"Who are you?" she asked, her voice rising with anger. She was in no mood to deal with anything at the time and was prepared to give whatever the thing was a good ass-whooping for the hell of it.

The figure moved gracefully into her line of sight, a Fae. He was dressed in elegant clothes, decorated with black and white patterns, a small fox pendant round' his neck. His hair was dark and curly, his eyes green and glowing with mischief. He extended a black gloved hand and gave a gentleman's bow.

"Ceylon Leifdel at your service," he announced with a small wave and a smile.


	12. Chapter 12

"Ceylon Leifdel at your service," he announced with a small wave and a smile.

Sarah raised her eyebrow, still defensive and shifted her weight nervously.

"Why are you in my room?" her voice was beginning to edge with the anger the more the events just before sat in her mind.

He looked at her with saddened eyes for a moment, then looked around the room taking in all the grandeur of the suite Sarah lived in. His hand traced over the wood of her bed absently as he spoke.

"I simply came to meet you and had the unfortunate consequence of catching you in the middle of a lover's quarrel, I must say I apologize for eavesdropping, but trying to leave seemed slightly impossible at the time where his Highness may have not been so forgiving."

He seemed harmless enough, and Sarah was in the mood to be dangerous, her anger had been set off by something so small she didn't fully understand WHY she was truly angry with him in the first place. She knew Jareth trusted her, so why was this making her so angry? She crossed her arms and eyed Ceylon up and down once again.

"What did you want to see me about?" she inquired, leaving emotion out of her voice.

Ceylon stood under her gaze, trying to decide how to answer her.

"I simply wanted to meet the girl who managed to scare away my older sister, Moirah. You must have truly been intimidating to have frightened her away from here so badly, she'd been after Jareth's crown for years, and was extremely determined on winning it," his voice seemed amused, not one seeking revenge.

"I'm wondering if the reasons I stood up to her were true the more I try to get to know Jareth," she felt compelled to tell Ceylon how she felt, a complete stranger yet she almost trusted him even only knowing him for minutes. She did just that, pouring out all her feelings about Jareth, what she wanted to do for him, and how unreasonably maddening it was, to start to get to know him more.

He listened quietly, nodding occasionally but didn't say anything until she was finished, she was more angry than when he had first arrived, but that hardly seemed to bother him, if anything, his eyes seemed to be glowing more the more angry she became.

"You're right you know," he said and kept an even gaze with her, "he should be telling you about his kingdom if he trusts you, and if he's not talking doesn't that mean that he honestly DOESN'T trust you? What about your privacy anyway? Didn't you say he can read minds? How is THAT trust when he constantly can see what you're thinking?" his voice was rising, it made her feel more. More anger, more malice, things she didn't even knew she could feel towards him. But Ceylon was drawing these emotions out of her, almost as if he fed on them, the angrier she became the more alive Ceylon seemed to be.

Furious, Sarah paced around the room like a caged lion simply awaiting a victim to come into her clutches, her leather boots hardly making a sound as she strode. Ceylon watched her, intrigued, and stood up, backing away into the shadows of her window, which was black out now.

"I'm glad I could be here for you to talk to, and Sarah, should you ever need me simply call," he winked, "but I do think it would be much safer to leave Jareth out of the knowledge of our visits for the time being. From the way you speak, I think he would disapprove of us speaking together, shall we?" he said smiled when Sarah nodded in agreement, backing into the shadows and leaving altogether.

Sarah's anger mellowed out on the surface but was still raging around inside her corset, she called for Dangle.

"I'd like to dine in my room tonight, if you please," it was a simple command and Dangle disappeared in a flash, leaving Sarah to gaze out her window, pondering what she could do tomorrow, or rather, what she was going to do regardless of his Majesty's approval tomorrow.

Jareth sat frustrated in his throne room, rubbing his throbbing temples while tapping his riding crop against his boot. He felt guilty, he had no reason to blow up on Sarah, she was only trying to help him and he knew that, so why had he felt so compelled to hide from her?

His past was a thing of disgrace, when Sarah had left him he not only had gone into a depression, but also had thrown fits of anger for months. Spilling innocent blood he didn't need to, letting his Labyrinth turn itself into a fucking torture chamber, it pained him to remember how helpless he had felt, over this one silly girl who couldn't keep herself safe for more than a few hours at a time.

He buried his face into his hands, wishing he could erase all the memories of things he had done.

When he had let his malice loose onto anyone, uncaring.

When he had gone so far into a fit of rage he summoned up the darkness that had long been sealed away.

When he had laughed so proudly when he snapped his fingers, broke the chain, and willingly allowed the darkness to entirely overtake him.

The darkness invading him, increasing his power, responding to his dangerous emotions, it would lash out, attacking anyone near him. Children, women, Fae and Goblin alike.

It was the dark time in his kingdom's past, and things only grew increasingly worse when Moirah had come into his life, breeding lies right under his nose without his knowing. When she had told him that she'd discovered Sarah Williams had died, sorrow and anger blended together in a combination of terror. Jareth had refused to see anyone for weeks, letting his kingdom rot away and helping it destroy it in his sadness.

So much blood had been spilled in such a short time, one could have repainted many of the Labyrinth's walls.

Things only began to get better after he hit rock bottom, he had struck out at Dangle, his care Goblin who had helped raise him, and injured her for life, the limp she walked with he couldn't heal. He finally came to his senses and began restoring everything he had so easily destroyed. Moirah had been helpful at one time, easy to let everything else from his mind vanish, until he had seen she was only after his crown.

Jareth took a deep breath as he came out of his memories, sitting in his window watching his kingdom in the night. It had taken time, and growth on his part, but he had restored the Labyrinth to its finest and was ever vigilant about the decisions he made towards it.

The Darkness being out was his fault, and it took most of his power to lock it away to the forest, but as things were showing, the border wasn't going to hold much longer, and the goblin that had burst in earlier had a report in his mind showing him there were mere weeks away from losing all control.

The next few days were nothing short of disasters.

Sarah refused to see the Goblin King in the slightest, and was in such a mood to go off and disobey any rule she could find. One day she took Sky off and flew over the wall and disappeared into the market for the entire day, eluding the guards sent to find her, and managing to start a fight with a water goblin at the edge of the Black Rose Forest, not a creature any other creature was particularly fond of.

The next she proceeded to allow any of the goblins in the castle to do whatever they pleased, and they took her up on it to the extreme. It took Jareth the entire day to put his castle back into order there had been so much chaos so quickly. He had caught a glimpse of Sarah briefly before she disappeared into her room, smiling like proud cat who had caught her mouse.

The following day was probably the worst, she managed to take Sky, yet again, out of the castle limits and straight INTO the Black Rose Forest. She wasn't lost, at first, and thankfully she had taken the sword with her so she did have SOME sort of defense from whatever it was she had run into. Jareth had spent the entire day, trying to organize the ball for day after tomorrow, going through his routine checks, and worrying about Sarah since he knew she'd only run off again the minute she saw him. When she had returned she had dirt smeared all over her face, one of her dresses was pretty much damaged beyond repair, she had a small bruise behind her neck, and little scratches all over her arms.

Today, however, she had been reasonable and kept the chaos within the castle walls, after scaring the cook, playing pranks on the gardener, and "reorganizing" all of Jareth's books in his study. How she managed to get around the entire castle without him knowing was beyond him, but he had a couple ideas of the goblins who had been helping her.

He sighed, things were going to become very complicated very quickly he feared if he didn't resolve the situation immediately. He had sent Dangle on an errand recently after the fight and she was only due back at the castle this evening, but, when he summoned Dangle, she walked in with a very…upsetting look.

"What did ya do?" she asked a bit gruffly. Her little arms were crossed and foot was tapping impatiently.

"I hid from her…what's really happening, and how I was feeling about something. How is she?" he asked anxiously.

"She's on er' balcony at the moment, I'd go see er' if I was you, you have some talkins' to do I bet," her mouth turned into a familiar goblin smile.

His Majesty gave her a brief smirk before flying out the window, circling the castle with practiced ease and landing quietly on the roof above her. Sarah was singing a Celtic lullaby he knew.

"_Lay down your head, and I'll sing you a lullaby_

_Back to the years of loo lee lai lay_

_And I'll sing you to sleep_

_And I'll sing you tomorrow_

_Bless you with love_

_For the rode that you go_

_May you sail fast_

_To the far field of fortune _

_With diamonds and pearls at your head and your feet_

_And may you need never_

_To banish misfortune_

_May you find kindness in all that you need_

_May there always be angels to watch over you _

_To guide you each step of the way_

_To guard and keep you safe from all harm_

_Loo lee loo lee lai lay_

_May you bring love_

_And may you bring happiness, _

_Be loved in return, _

_To the end of your days, _

_Now fall asleep,_

_I'm not meaning to keep you, _

_I'll just sit for a while and sing_

_Loo lee lai lay, _

_May there always be angles to watch over you,_

_To guard you each step of the way, _

_To guard you and keep safe from all harm, _

_Loo lee loo lee lai lay, _

_Loo lee loo lee lai lay."_

He watched as a small night fairy flew to her, glowing a soft pale blue, and presented her with a flower, in gratitude for her singing. She took it gratefully and smiled, a smile filled with a sadness, before turning to head inside. The Goblin King breathed deeply as he heard her sing, such a beautiful tune, it eased him from his nervousness, and climbed down gracefully onto her stone railing.

She gave a small start before glaring at him; she kept her eyes even to his.

"I don't want to see you right now, or was the lack of me at dinner too subtle for you?" she added with sass.

Sass was good, sass was very good. Sass was workable, it wasn't malice, and it wasn't venom.

He folded his arms and took up his glittery prideful stance, the dominant side of him trying to stake some ground, but dropped his arms down to his side. That was just asking for another fight, one he'd much rather try and avoid at this point.

"I didn't misunderstand your message Dearest, I simply came to fix things, fighting with you, no matter how exciting it may be at the time, can alter the future I've found and would like to avoid it as much as possible," he said and took a few steady even strides with his long, tight breeched legs towards her.

Sarah crossed her arms in a slow motion, there wasn't a trace of agreement in her face and Jareth furrowed his brows in confusion.

"Would you rather stay like this?" he asked his words laced with sarcasm.

She turned on her heel and walked over to her bed, turned down the covers and went into the bathroom where her bath was being drawn. Confusion flooded her mind at the moment, she wanted to be angry with him, but at the same time she didn't, she wanted to be back in his arms with all this tension gone. Walking back into the other room she went straight to her dresser and pulled out a nightgown, ignoring his Majesty entirely.

"Sarah," he called as she walked back towards the bathroom, still ignoring him.

"Sarah!" he said louder and walked over to the door where she was about to run into him.

"Don't defy me," he warned and caught her gently in his leather grasp, though she kept her head away from him, he pointedly took his finger and turned her chin up towards him.

"Talk to me," he said softly, on the water of the bath disrupting their silence.

"I don't know what to say, I don't even know what I'm feeling at this point! I want to be mad at you," she paused and gripped his arms, holding him away from her (he obviously let her considering he's undoubtedly stronger) "but at the same time I want nothing more than to be over this stupid feeling and back in your arms," the water stopped itself since it was full and they both stood there, not entirely sure of what to say to the other.

"I'm sorry," he whispered trying to atone in some way for all of the things he had kept from her and all the worry and concern he had caused her. Sarah was someone he would always trust, with everything. She was part of his foundation now, and something he now understood he could come back to whenever he was falling apart on the inside.

The silence hung in the air, slowly beginning to thin out as Sarah let go of him and stepped closer. She wrapped her arms tight against him, he hands tightening in his soft poet's shirt.

"I'm sorry too, I'm not sure why I reacted to…unreasonably. It wasn't something I'd normally be so upset about. I know you trust me," she pulled back and looked deep into his mismatched tender gaze, his hand brushing through her hair,

"and I know your kingdom is yours to be run as you see fit, which also includes keeping me out of things if that's what is best. But please," she moved her hands to she was cupping both sides of his face,

"Don't keep me locked out on how you feel, let me share some of your burden, you can always rely on me, please remember that," she leaned forward and pressed her lips into his, both of them clinging to each other for a moment before she pulled away.

He held against him once more, relief rushed through him. Leaning forward by her ear he whispered softly, "Thank you love."


	13. Chapter 13

**Heheheh, HI GUYS! I'm baaaack~ So, first off I really apologize for getting this out so late, school started and I was basically getting readjusted. So I sincerely apologize for everyone who's been annoyed and my lack of posting. Second, Yes yes I know this chapter is short and it doesn't give a lot of description on Ceylon, the next chapter will include more background on him, please be patient. . (And yes, he is having an affect on Sarah, and Jareth slightly too.) **

**Thank you SO MUCH to everyone who's been reviewing my stories! :D I'm always curious if you guys are liking where it's going and what I should give more details about. There are quite a few things I still wish to incorporate into the story before we hit off on the REAL excitement, so bear with me here. **

**Disclaimer: I own none of Jim Henson's Characters. Any relation between a character and a person in real life...is highly possible. -_-**

**Without further adieu! ENJOY~**

The sweet smell of hay and alfalfa enveloped the air as Sarah ran the soft bristled brush over Sky's luscious dapple coat. A week or so had passed since Jareth and she had made up, the one conflict that still lingered in her mind though was what he had meant when he had said she could never understand what he'd done.

Sky nickered towards her when she had spaced out and stopped brushing down his back.

"Sorry boy," she ran a hand through his soft mane, "just have a lot on my mind. Sky," she moved around until she was directly in front of him, staring deeply into his sweet purple eyes that were listening to her, "What is it that Jareth is hiding from me? What happened that was so bad that he can't stand to hardly think about it?"

His eyes saddened and he nuzzled her shoulder softly, almost as though telling her,

_You really don't want to know what he did._

Her eyes narrowed, more curiosity and confusion coming into her.

"Does it have to do with the Darkness?" she asked, holding the rough halter so Sky would continue to face her.

He shuffled his feet nervously.

She let go of him and watched as he slipped through the paddock door and ran out into the open field. Even Sky's reaction to her question was roundabout, Jareth wouldn't talk to her about it, Dangle refused to speak about it, and she couldn't get to the books in Jareth's study to look more carefully.

Sky whinnied again and again as he galloped about the pasture, Sarah watching from the side of the barn, sitting on the yellow hay bales with a few books nearby. Tonight was the Goblin Ball, guests had already begun to arrive a few days ago, although hundreds more were expected to arrive later this evening. She'd been avoiding as many of them as she could, Jareth had been right when he said they loved to gossip. It was something they thrived on, and they made every attempt to make Sarah feel bad whenever they saw her.

One guest had even critiqued the way Sarah had curtsied when she had arrived, others said the usual; she was sleeping with Jareth so she could get ahold of his crown if he married her.

These didn't' bother Sarah, but they annoyed Jareth enough that she did her best to avoid giving them ways of spreading more rumors simply by avoiding them altogether. Sky had become a great companion in the past few days as well as certain goblins she was well acquainted with.

The sun turning into a golden hue, twilight on the horizon, meaning the Goblin Ball would be starting soon and she had best get inside and get ready. She didn't have magic like the other Fae ladies so Dangle would have to help her with her hair instead. Jareth's magic would have worked fine, but she insisted that she'd wanted to surprise him, so he'd let her to it with a smile.

Picking up her books, she slid off of the hay and began walking the dirt path back to the castle. Her books reminded her of the Darkness and a small seed of worry rooted itself in her again. This darkness was a thing of terror to say the least, and she had witnessed a firsthand account of a small attack when she had gone up to the lake.

Too lost in her thoughts, she fumbled over her foot and crashed into the hard dirt path she'd been walking on. Her wrist caught most of her fall, unfortunately, and there was a long tear in her dress she was wearing. She muttered a curse under her breath and picked up the books she'd dropped, trying to hurry inside where she knew Dangle would be waiting, almost impatiently by this time.

Passing through the ever moving halls, she rounded a corner a bit too quickly and ran head on into a guest.

"Oh my goodness, I'm sorry, I didn't see where I was going," Sarah said apologetically offering a hand to help her up. The model-worthy, blonde haired, blue eyed Fae ignored it and glared a spiteful look towards her.

"Watch yourself human," her voice came out in a snarl as she slammed into Sarah's shoulder and continued on her way.

Sarah huffed in annoyance, this wasn't unexpected, it had been happening all week. It was only a matter of time before they would all have to watch themselves.

She made it to her room without further encounters, and sighed with relief when she saw Dangle waiting with a soft smile.

"Been a rough day for ya miss?" she asked with deep sympathy in her voice as she led Sarah over to the bath and helped her undress.

"You've no idea," she said as she stepped into the warm milky looking water, "I knew they loved to spread rumors, but I had no idea that they were this vile towards humans, I've done my best to stay out of their way, but it doesn't ever seem enough." Dangle took a soft ball of odd looking moss and began brushing down Sarah's arms, one by one.

"They can be a bit rough, yes," she pointed towards Sarah's legs indicating she wanted to work on them, "but, keep yer' head up, they'll have to give up eventually."

Sarah closed her eyes as she relaxed in the deep warm water, the massive tub big enough for almost three people felt like heaven to sprawl out in. She mumbled some sort of agreement to Dangle and just listened as the goblin hummed softly. It went quiet for a moment and Sarah wondered if Dangle was even there anymore when she heard the humming again. Although, this time, the humming seemed much deeper than before. There was small pressure on her neck to lean forward, which is what Dangle usually did to wash her back.

"How many people are expected to arrive this evening?" she asked, her body relaxing more and more into the warm water.

"More than you think precious," his voice whispered, softly blowing on her ear.

Her eyes opened and shock and she turned over so fast in the water so she was facing him. Her eyes and nose were the only things barely breaking the surface.

"Did you not want this finished?" he teased holding the green ball in his hand. She narrowed her eyes and raised her eyebrow, questioning his actions. He kept a steady gaze and slowly she turned around so only her back was facing him. Jareth brushed the moss ball in soft circular strokes, his heart lurched when he saw the scars from the glass she'd fallen on before she'd come to his kingdom again.

"What is it?" she asked, sensing something was wrong when he had stopped humming. He didn't say anything, but she felt his lips pressing softly into the different parts of her back.

His hands tipped the side of her head so he could reach her neck with ease. She leaned her head backwards, the water up to her shoulders and looked at the Goblin King's smirk upside-down.

"You look rather pleased with yourself," she said reaching her hand out of the water tracing down his jawline.

"Perhaps my dear, it's because I've got the most beautiful person in the world in my sight," he leaned into her touch and twisted so he could kiss the center of her palm.

A rush of warm color came to her face, the king watched, amused at her reaction, and leaned down above her, his spice scent flooding Sarah's nose again as she leaned up to grasp his lips with hers. He paused and kissed her gently again, pressing deeply. The kiss was strained, she could sense he was worrying about something in the back of his mind and it began to worry her.

Sarah's other hand came up and she held his face to hers, pulling on his bottom lip lightly with her teeth. She traced his lip with her tongue and pulled away blowing as she went. Pride surged through her when he quivered and tried to do the same to her. He reached for her face, when Sarah moved back in the tub suddenly.

Sarah's eyes widened in a mix of amusement and shock as Jareth's hand slipped on the edge of the tub and he fell, head first into the pool of water. She couldn't stop herself from giggling and did her best to cover her face when he came out of the water with a very…un-amused look in his eyes.

"Oh you find this amusing do you?" he asked, his tone teasing but slightly harsh.

Sarah bit her lip and did her absolute best to give a serious face, which failed miserably.

He moved over to her and tucked one hand delicately behind her head, while the other held them both securely to the side of the tub. She reached up, locking her hands in fistfuls of his wet hair, a small fire of passion beginning to develop in her stomach as he pressed his lips fiercely against hers.

"Sarah," he whispered softly as his lips traced down her neck, leaving a burning trail after them. He could hardly control himself when he heard her moan as he licked over her pulse. Her hands reached into his shirt, unable to resist herself from touching him. She twisted her face, before he could leave a mark on her skin and captured his lips, trying to earn some dominance ground. He smirked and opened his mouth for her to explore to her heart's content.

From the side of the room came a very loud throat clearing, which Sarah felt should be answered, although Jareth had other ideas and leaned away only to trail his tongue up from her mouth to her ear and lick every crevice that could possibly be exposed, the throat clearing came again, and he twisted around enough to bite the spot between her neck and her ear. Leaving a sweet red mark behind for him to admire, Sarah herself had lost most coherency and yelped when he bit her. He pulled away to look at her with tender eyes, and only at the last moment did she notice a trace of fear when he teleported away.

"That boy, trouble doesn't even begin to describe em'," Dangle said as she held up a towel for Sarah to step into. Sarah smiled as the goblin rambled a bit about his bad behaviors.

"We all have our moments," Sarah said as she stepped into the dress Jareth had had made for her. It was a masquerade ball, so her dress had been styled around it. It rose above her ankles, stopping just below her knees, making it easy to move in. The pattern was checkered black and silver, with almost a tinge of gold in it. It wasn't centered on her shoulders, rather it wrapped around them on the sides and had a slight lace trim on the hem. The sleeves weren't overly puffy, but they did have their fluff to them.

Dangle smiled as she helped lace up the black corset that hugged Sarah's figure perfectly.

"That we do, but fer em' it always seems to be an exception," she hobbled over to the bureau and pulled out the special glittery gold stockings.

"He definitely isn't without his tantrums, I'll agree with that," Sarah said smiling and sat down to roll the stockings on, followed by lacing up the boots she decided to wear.

"Now, how did ya' want to do yer' hair?" she asked running the comb through it. Sarah smiled and reached for her nightstand, pulling out a few hairpieces she'd bought while she'd been around the town. Dangle's eyes widened as she looked at them.

"These are beautiful Miss Sarah! Jareth will love them!" she said happily and began helping Sarah curl her hair into big soft curls.

When they had finished Dangle disappeared for the moment and returned holding a beautifully carved mahogany box.

"This, Miss Sarah, is the special mask Jareth had the artisans create specially for you, along with this pendant," she said and held it open for Sarah to admire. The mask was pure black but lined entirely with silver, and the pendant was the one she'd bought when she had gone off with Sky, simply cleaned up. She took it out and admired it when she realized if she turned it sideways, similar as his crystals did, she saw his eyes, as though they were truly watching her.

"It's beautiful Dangle," she said as the little goblin latched the necklace onto Sarah's soft pale neck. The anxiousness of the approaching event finally starting to sink in. She stood up, walking over to her dressing mirror and felt her heart stop. There was no way that could have been her, the one in the mirror was practically Fae worthy she was so beautiful. Her eyes glowed such a bright green, it would be hard to not notice her in a swarm of others. Somehow, that had to be the doing of Jareth, Sarah figured.

"Ready Miss Sarah?" Dangle asked as she looped her hand in with Sarah's and led her towards the hall.

"I don't think I can do this," Sarah said as they neared the ballroom, her hand began shaking at her side.

"Just hold yer' head up Miss Sarah, you'll do fine, I promise," she said and opened the doors for Sarah's entrance.

**Oooh, exciting. What could possibly happen at the royal ball! "Cliffhanger, hanging from a cliff!...and that's why he's called cliffhanger~"**


	14. Chapter 14

**Ok...I'm super sorry for not posting earlier! . Writers block is a curse..but to make it up to everyone I put some cool info on Ceylon (well more really cool, but it answers questions) and I made it extra specially long!~ And Ooooh lookey, sarah has a power! 8D Read and REVIEW~~!~! Love you guys!**

A hush fell over the crowd as she stood in the doorway, doing her best to put her anxiety to the back or her mind. All faces were turned to her as she stepped down the stairway into mix of guests.

Her heart felt like it was stuttering it was beating so quickly, she looked over the faces, each one keeping a solemn face as she descended. Each step, slowly, gradually coming. It felt never ending.

Almost to the bottom and there was a small murmur amongst the crowd, a figure was making their way through the mass of guests to meet her at the bottom.

Her eyes fell to the ground as she reached the last step, the music resumed playing, and the guests went back to their chattering. Before she had a chance to move someone's arm wrapped around her waist, then another tilting her chin up to face him.

Sarah felt a rush of relief as she looked straight up into the face, not covered by a mask, of her King, his eyes radiating with pride as he looked her up and down.

"May I have this dance?" he asked, giving an impromptu bow. Sarah smiled to herself as he did, admiring the way his coat fit him so nicely, beautiful dark blue velvet certainly fit for a King.

Unable to find her voice as she continued to look him over she gave a small nod and was instantly whisked away into his arms, spinning into the crowd of faces.

She'd taken plenty of dance classes after the Labyrinth and was fairly decent on her feet, so she spent much of the time staring at the angel who was holding her.

His hair was as wild as ever, the blue and purple streaks coming through much more vibrantly. His dark blue tux of sorts, was the same one she remembered in her dream, the touch of velvet striking up memories of the past. Locked inside of a crystal, made to forget everything of her quest for her brother. The way she'd searched for him among the numerous guests who were dancing and drinking their night away. When she had been returned home, and was given plenty of time to process what all had happened, she realized he had done it just to show her how much he cared, rather than being imprisoned as she had previously thought.

Jareth's eyes were practically glowing as he looked down on her, flowing in perfect time with the rhythm of the music.

She blinked and realized Jareth had been talking to her.

"What were you saying?" she blushed, "Sorry, I wasn't really paying attention."

He gave a small chuckle and leaned towards her, his arm around her back tightening a bit more.

"I said you look marvelous Darling, more beautiful than anyone else."

She bowed her head into his jacket to hide her face, smiling.

"Thank you," he barely heard her mumble. He suddenly lifted her into the air, adding a spin. That smile he loved so dearly appeared on her face again and they continued following the pattern of the dance.

When the song ended Jareth walked them over to a circle of Faes.

"Ah Jareth! How wonderful it is to see you again!" a male fae said, his orange hair spiked and prickly looking.

"Oh yes Jareth, really you ought' to have a ball more often," a female this time, her emerald green dress resting uncomfortably low on her bosom.

"I'll have to leave that decision up to my lady here," Jareth said gesturing towards Sarah, who dipped gracefully.

"Friends, may I introduce to you Miss Sarah Williams, the one and only champion of my Labyrinth," his voice was beaming pride. Sarah smiled to the others, internally cringing as she saw an unmistakable fake smile plastered onto the female's face.

"Such a grandeur feat!" the orange hair one spoke again and stepped forward to take Sarah's hand in his, placing a small kiss gingerly on top.

"My name is Ryfe, Miss Sarah, a pleasure to meet you," he said, his eyes full of life as he looked at her.

"The pleasure is mine," she said. The female curtsied towards her, short and brief.

"I'm Myrey, Queen of Stoneware Isles," her voice had plenty of underlying falseness, though Sarah gave her as graceful of a bow as she could manage.

Jareth's arm squeezed her waist before he let go.

"If you'll excuse me, I have more people I need to meet with. I leave my Lady in your capable hands," he said and gave a quick bow before walking away.

"So how did you end up in the Labyrinth to begin with Miss Sarah?" Myrey asked, knowing full well what happened to begin with.

"I made a mistake of wishing my brother away," Sarah answered, her voice almost choking up, though she forced through it and kept a steady eye contact with the fierce gaze of the Queen.

"My goodness!" Myrey's hand flew up to her mouth in shock, "How could you do such a thing? To a baby of all things?"

Sarah shifted her weight uncomfortably.

"It was a mistake that's all," she tried to shrug it off.

"A mistake that gets you the crown…" Myrey's whisper wasn't heard by anyone else and with a slight turn she walked away from the remaining group.

"You'll have to forgive her," Ryfe said as he offered his arm to Sarah, she took it daintily and began walking with him on the outer rim of the room.

"Many of the women here are…not entirely pleased with you having the Goblin King as your escort, if you can understand," he explained.

Sarah nodded and began talking to Ryfe about the other guests that were visiting. He pointed out the Duke and Dutchess of Wingside Manor, the only place in the Underground where Pegasus are allowed to be bred and sold. They were a, surprisingly, older looking couple, but both had sweet tender smiles on their faces.

"Very wonderful people. He's surprisingly strict when you're alone with him, but always good natured when part of a group, scary isn't it?" he said with a small chuckle before leading Sarah a bit farther to point out another couple. He pointed towards an extremely young looking boy, in human years only appearing to be around 10-12.

"That is Prince Hirfley," Sarah smiled as she saw Ryfe biting his lip to hold back his own laughter, "He's a very…eager prince and is always looking for a new girlfriend, be careful." Sarah giggled lightly and reset herself as a lady walked over to Ryfe, asking for a dance. He excused himself politely and Sarah watched as he spun her around with ease. She looked around the room, noticing few people had taken any interest in her, wondering where Jareth had disappeared to.

"Wouldn't you rather be outside dancing with the others?" a voice said from behind her. Turning she saw Ceylon sitting on the stone ledge out on the nearby balcony. Smiling she walked outside to see him.

"What're you doing here?" she asked as he bowed to her.

"Oh am I not invited now?" he said giving a fake pouty face to her. She rolled her eyes.

"Just surprised is all."

There was a loud commotion coming from the great hall suddenly , a racket worthy of deafening someone's ears. Ceylon moved closer to Sarah so she could hear.

"Can we go somewhere a little quieter?" he asked and took Sarah by the hand before she had a chance to respond.

They walked along the gardens, through the miniature maze filled with fountains and statues. The noise from the ball had died down quite a bit as they continued into the maze. There was a little red flag warning going up in Sarah's mind as she strolled along with Ceylon, but when she compared it to the feeling of being singled out in an entire ball, she felt more comfortable where she was at the moment.

"So? Things going better with his royal hiney?" Ceylon asked, letting go of Sarah's arm and sitting on the edge of a fountain they had come to. Sarah smiled to herself.

"Better, we fought for a little while, but in the end it was silly. So we let it go and moved on," she said brushing her hand along the very top of the water, disrupting the reflection of herself. She looked over at Ceylon and was startled to see he was practically glaring at her.

"You let it go? Jeez, way to break under pressure. What'd he say? A couple smooth 'I do trust you' mixed with some 'yes of course I love you'?" his tone was so mocking Sarah almost hit him, but clenched her fist at her side instead.

"Why would I want to be mad at him?" she asked. Ceylon smirked and stood up, pacing a couple steps.

"He's lying to you, you know that. There's something important he's keeping from you, and you don't know why," he walked closer, his voice a harsh whisper in Sarah's face, "Doesn't that bother you at all that he won't tell you how he's really feeling?" Sarah felt a small ball of annoyance sit in the pit of her stomach. Ceylon was telling the truth, despite how much she didn't want to believe it, it was how she really felt.

"I don't want to think about that, thank you," she said and turned away to look down into her reflection. The silhouette was hauntingly lined with silver moonlight as she looked at it. His voice was instantly by her ear.

"What if he's lying to you right now?" he said. She moved her head away from him, but he followed just as fast.

"What if he doesn't really love you, telling you all those things, anyone can say them," Sarah huffed in annoyance and got up to move.

"Ceylon, those things aren't true. He wouldn't lie to me like that," she stated, though she wasn't entirely convinced by her own decision.

"What if he's busy right now? You haven't seen him at the party most of the night have you? He hasn't been seen for a while," Ceylon's voice was practically hissing. Sarah thrashed out her arms, pushing him away.

"You're lying to me! Enough!" she yelled, but Ceylon's arms locked onto her shoulders, holding her tight so she couldn't struggle against him.

"Ceylon you're hurting me, let go!" she yelled, trying to kick out at him. Sarah wanted nothing more than to be away from him at this point, though her heart ached with all the things he had been saying to her.

"Just think of what he could be doing to her right now," he whispered, his nails beginning to bite into her skin, "Where they are, what he's doing to her, what she's saying," His voice was smooth like honey, rolling in waves that almost felt believable.

"Let go of me!" she was practically screaming at him, but his arms were like marble, a solid force.

"Want to know why he's with her?" Ceylon's voice was thundering in her ears, throbbing not in the loudness of his tone, but the way her heart was pounding it hurt so much to think of what he was saying to her.

"Shut up!" she screamed, pulling as much as she could, worried about what he would do to her.

"Because," he voice fell into a low hushed tone, Sarah could hear noises of people coming through the maze, shouts for her name. She felt a tear run down her face as Ceylon's arms tightened into her skin again.

"He doesn't really love you," the words were practically breathed into her ear, she stopped fighting him, hearing the sounds growing closer. Sarah listened and could hear Ceylon's vicious laughter next to her, chuckling as though he had taken over the Underground. She looked up and saw Jareth with three other Fae coming straight towards them. Ceylon was still laughing and Sarah turned around, her jaw tight. Sarah's eyes were locked with her king's, his worry and relief as he saw her reaching her simply through their gaze. She hardly blinked when she realized what that simple look had meant. In one instant she pulled her arm back and hooked Ceylon right in the face, with all of her force. He only faltered a step backwards, but it was then the other Fae came over and caught him in their grasp. Ryfe had a hold of one side of Ceylon, and a Fae Sarah didn't recognize had the other. Jareth's gaze darkened as he and Ceylon glared each other down.

"What're you doing in my kingdom?" Jareth asked silently, but each word dripping with malice, trying to poison the air around them both; Sarah shuddered. Ceylon glared at Jareth for a moment longer before turning his head to Sarah, his mouth curving up into an evil smirk.

"Just explaining the nature of some people, simply talking if you will, Your Majesty," he said with a curt edge to his words, showing Jareth that he wasn't afraid of a challenge, quite the opposite, willing to fight with him at any moment. Sarah moved so that she was standing a few steps away, feeling something unsettling in her stomach.

Jareth, in a blur of motion, stepped forward and locked his hand around Ceylon's throat, pushing the Fae guards away and pinning Ceylon against the fountain that was behind him. Sarah gasped, startled by the action, and held her hand over her mouth so no sound would come out. Jareth's hand tightened against Ceylon's throat some more, his tone more menacing than Sarah had ever heard from him before.

"You were ordered to stay away from this place, regardless of what people enter my kingdom, that's none of your business is it?" Ceylon glanced at Sarah then looked back at Jareth and began laughing maniacally. Each laugh shallow and treacherous, dangerous. Sarah felt her breath catch in her throat, afraid of what was to come in the next few minutes. Despite Jareth pinning him on the stone with most of his force, enough to bruise, Ceylon managed to raise his head, and baring his teeth in a sinister grin said,

"You think you're strong enough to stop me? You think your precious little Sarah is safe behind your stone walls?" Jareth's eyes grew wider and he tightened his grip again, making Ceylon gasp for breath now, before his smirk returned.

"Just watch, you may not lose your kingdom to It, you may not lose your own self to It, or even those you protect inside your land. But I promise you this," he whispered too quietly for Sarah to hear then.

"I will make you lose her one way or another."

Jareth hissed and flung Ceylon into a stone wall with all his force, then summoned his magic and struck him so hard the wall behind Ceylon cracked and crumbled in seconds. Ryfe ran over to Sarah, and picking her up in his arms, began running back towards the castle for safety. Ceylon saw them leave and with uncanny speed surged past Jareth and shot a spike of ice at Ryfe's leg, crippling him on the ground and dropping Sarah into the gravel. She stood up after she'd stopped rolling and began running back towards the palace herself. There was another evil laugh and Ceylon appeared a few feet in front of Sarah, stopping her dead in her tracks.

"Why make this more complicated than it is?" he sighed dramatically,

"Can't I just kidnap you now and get it over with? Rather than drawing out a huge battle in which I want very little to do with. It'll only waste strength and probably costs numerous dollars in damages, not to mention, there's no telling how badly I could wound His Royal Hiney."

Sarah's eyes widened in fright, Ceylon was an opponent that perhaps Jareth couldn't beat. She looked behind her to see Jareth lying face down in the gravel some ways behind her. Her wasn't moving, and Ryfe was moaning in pain trying to stop the bleeding on his leg. Her fist clenched in anger, seeing this person almost mocking the person she loved so much, and the people she cared about was sending her over the edge. Jaw tightened, fists tight she glared up at Ceylon.

"You're nothing but a con," she hissed, adding as much venom in her words as Jareth had. He watched her reaction with a serious face, but it was soon replaced by uncontrollable laughter.

"You don't really think you can take me on do you?" he was having trouble breathing he was laughing so hard, there were tears beginning to roll down his face.

"This is too amusing, you truly think you have a chance to stand up to a Fae like me? I can conquer this kingdom in a heartbeat if I wanted to! You're nothing more than a measly human, powerless and helpless without her precious bodyguard," he said raising himself into the air, his cape billowing as his power danced around him in an intimidating display. He crossed his arms over his chest and watched as Sarah's anger was turning into something more than just anger. Sarah's eyes were glowing a luminous emerald and there was a strange presence gathering itself around her. More interested in protecting himself from this unknown force, Ceylon gathered his own power inside of his palm and waited to strike, the power in his hand not enough to kill, but certainly enough to break bones.

Sarah wasn't sure what she was doing, or where it was coming from, all she cared about was protecting those that she cared about at this moment. Unsure of what she was supposed to do next she thrust her hand forward, feeling a strong power behind it and in the ground cracks began to appear and her sword was brought up to her from the Labyrinth itself. As though it were second nature to her she picked up the hilt in her hand and poised her weapon, ready to kill. Ceylon looked at her intrigued, but decided this had gone on long enough and shot the force in his palm at her. Sarah could see the strike coming and merely swung at the blow, an eruption of force was expelled from the blade, disrupting his attack entirely.

"I think I may have a chance," Sarah said, confidence racing through her veins as she realized she could attack at him from the ground. She swung the blade out in another diagonal strike, and like before the force shot out from her sword and travelled into the air where she had aimed it, enough of a blow to knock Ceylon to the ground. Seizing the opportunity she ran in ready to stab him, but Ceylon was still faster and shot another burst of magic at her, hitting her square in the chest and sending her flying backwards to where Ryfe was lying. She groaned and tried to sit up, but was too exhausted.

Ceylon smirked at her again and said,

"I will be back for you, you can assure yourself of that Miss Sarah, promise," he added with an evil wink and disappeared into the night like a lightning bolt.

There was an eerie silence, followed by the music of the party still going on, uninterrupted. Sarah took a few deep breaths to steady herself and finally managed to stand up, the other Fae guards were coming around again and immediately Sarah ordered them to take Ryfe to the healer. They nodded and lifted the almost unconscious Ryfe away, his leg looking in pretty bad shape. She then ran back down the gardens until she came across the fountain where they'd been fighting and hurried to get to Jareth. He was still lying where Ceylon had dropped him, and still unmoving.

Fearing the worst Sarah dropped to her knees beside him, trying to see if he was still breathing. Relief swept through her, like a river over stones, when she found he was; he was alive. She carefully rolled him over onto his back, cradling his head on her lap. He winced and groaned, starting to come around.

"Jareth?" she asked worriedly, "Can you hear me?"

He nodded slightly and slowly opened his eyes, then he sat up with a start.

"Where's Ceylon?" he asked quickly, fumbling to his feet, now ready to fight. A bit late for that though.

"He knocked you out clean and attacked Ryfe, but he left shortly after that," Sarah explained seeing no reason to tell Jareth about her new found power quite yet, "Promised he'd be back again and then disappeared into the night."

Jareth rubbed his sore head, trying to understand what had all happened. His thoughts were already drowning out Sarah's voice though. Ceylon had been using a magic Jareth had only once tried, and in the end the cost was himself, that darkness that was threatening to take over his kingdom stemmed from the day he sold himself to use the powerful magic that Ceylon was using. It was dark, it was pure evil, and it was almost unstoppable. Jareth had been studying for months and was hardly any closer into finding a way to counteract the atrocious spells one could conjure with unparalleled speed and accuracy. Only wind and fire seemed to have any effect against the vile stuff, and Jareth was only magically inclined to use fire, ever since then he'd been practicing to make himself more proficient in that skill more than any other. Selling ones' self is a steep price to pay for a power like that, and few people can ever regain themselves once they are under its influence. Jareth had been fortunate enough to find a way out of the terror, after he had truly seen what he was doing to the ones he really cared about.

"Jareth?" Sarah's voice broke into his thoughts finally. He looked over her with careful eyes, making sure she was alright.

"Yes love?" he said once he was sure she was alright aside from the torn dresses and minor scrapes he figured she'd accumulated.

"I asked if you were alright," she said again, as though she'd already said it many times, though to tell the truth she probably had with the depth he had lost himself in his thoughts.

"Yes, I'm quite alright. Sore but I think I'll manage," he said and walked over to her, wrapping his arms tightly around her, reassuring himself that she was still standing before him. He'd almost lost her a few times in his time, and losing her to Ceylon…well…it certainly wasn't a pleasant thought. It took him a moment to realize she was shaking in his grasp.

"Sarah, are you alright? You're trembling all over," he said concerned and began leading Sarah back towards the palace. She nodded silently and followed him wordlessly back inside through a side entrance into the kitchen. Dangle, happening to be in there at the time, practically screeched when she saw the state Sarah's and Jareth's clothes were left in, and immediately ordered them to go put on something else.

After changing into a spare ball gown Dangle had been certain to make, knowing something was bound to happen when it came to Sarah, Sarah fixed her hair and made her way downstairs to rejoin the party, needing to keep up the face of the royalty. She didn't leave Jareth's side for the remainder of the night, and though he made sure to keep a strong grasp on her, she couldn't help wondering, where had Jareth been when Ceylon had gone to talk to her in the first place?


	15. Chapter 15

**...Please tell me you still love me? . I'm so sorry every one I haven't updated in so long, I was focusing on my Greek story for so much...**

**Pleeeeeaaaassee tell me you all still love me and wish I would keep updating *wails* I know I let you all down for so long! But don't give up on me yet, I beg of you!**

**...Review...please oh please oh pleaseeeee review!**

**:D And...hereeee wee...go. *jokers voice***

**Chapter 15**

The thought had been nagging Sarah's subconscious for days, and she hadn't the heart to ask him where he had been. She was back in the garden, sitting by the fountain and playing with the small fish that swam in it. There were still guests left from the ball, and it was Jareth's duty as a royal to entertain them. Rather than suffer through hours of their sneers and unkind remarks, Sarah politely had excused herself and decided to remain unengaged in the planned events over the next few days. Jareth understood but, though wanted to remain by her side, was bound to his duty as King first.

She traced her finger over the surface of the water, giving a small smile as a little blue fish came up and suckled softly on it. Looking past the fish, she watched her reflection on the water. It seemed like it always had been; normal and human, nothing compared to a Fae beauty. It were as though everything around her was trying to reinforce the fact that she wasn't worthy of living as a royal.

Sarah splashed her hand over the image, distorting it entirely, and turned away. Ever since Ceylon's disappearance, everything felt…different. She felt more in touch with everything in the Labyrinth than ever, yet the emotions of everyone she passed seemed intensified. Spite and malice from the Fae guests was overwhelming at times. She sighed and looked back at the fish, who seemed to be sad now. She had yet to tell Jareth about the sword, or the Labyrinth responding to her every move, or the fact she had an unknown power capable of fighting Ceylon too.

Still pondering over what had happened, she almost didn't notice the shadow that overtook hers. Before she could turn, a soft, gloved hand brushed the hair back from the side of her neck, then she felt a soft kiss just below her ear. Leaning towards the sensation, she turned and wrapped her arms around him.

"I was wondering where you'd scurried off to," he said musingly. She gave a small role of her eyes.

"You knew, you always know."

He kept a hand around her shoulders.

"That wasn't the point," he tried to pull her into his arms, but she fumbled away and stood up.

"I thought there were guests to entertain," she said questioningly, giving herself a little space from his Majesty. He gave her a confused look, and moved towards her.

"And I thought you'd be happy to see me," he said back, "Is something bothering you Precious?" he asked, stroking the side of her face tenderly; she moved away again, pretending to find a sudden interest in a nearby flower, one that she'd probably studied numerous times after spending so much time out here either by herself or with Sky. Something was definitely bothering her.

Jareth furrowed his brow as he walked over to her again. Making sure she couldn't get away this time, he wrapped his arms around her waist tightly.

"Sarah, what's bothering you?" he asked again, gripping more tightly to her as she tried to worm away again.

"It's nothing Jareth, let go," she said trying to pull away in a failing attempt.

"Not until you tell me what's got you so upset."

She relaxed a bit, and tried to force herself to ask him. They had already had a fight over trust once before, and they had gone days without really getting along. Sarah wasn't inclined to feel that again, but she also knew she wasn't going to be able to evade talking to him about it anyway.

"…What kind of things are you doing with the Fae this afternoon?" she said finally. Internally she couldn't do it, she didn't want him to think she didn't trust him because of one minor incident. He smiled, thinking it was something that small and went on to answer her. Her heart pounded as though a blacksmith were molding a hard, hot piece of iron into a sword. Guilt weighed heavily inside of her, but she managed to push it deeper inside of herself and ignore it.

He escorted her back into the castle, and into the dinner the goblins had prepared for all of them. Jareth seated her next to him, and the other guests were shown to their spots as well, thankfully this would be the last meal she would have to endure with the scowls.

"So Sarah, I noticed you weren't with us during today's fencing tournament, what possibly pulled you away from us?" Myrey, Queen of Stoneware Isles asked her, that fake smile still there. Sarah knew it was a test. She felt herself sitting up straighter, and replied with a smile,

"Actually I decided to spend some time riding, and studying the botany in the garden. I'm not entirely familiar with the types of plants that exist here in the Underground, and I feel it would be towards my better interest if I spend time coming to know more about them."

Seeming pleased with this answer Myrey turned her attention elsewhere on the table. Jareth grinned wildly as he could Myrey was more put off than she had anticipated. Ryfe, who was sitting next to Sarah on her other side, had the same smile on his face.

"I'm not entirely sure she was anticipating that response," Ryfe explained to Sarah, "It's actually quite a nice feeling when I see her so put off." Sarah smiled towards him.

"Well, the more time I spend around here with them, the easier it becomes to respond to them. And to what it is that impresses them is even better," she whispered back to him, catching Jareth out of the corner of her eye as he talked to one of his goblins of defense softly. There was a sudden flicker of worry inside her, but Ryfe kept her attention as he talked about riding his own Pegasus. And the rest of dinner seemed as though it would go off without a hitch, but then again, when do things ever go as planned? Especially in the Underground.

Sarah paced around her room, embarrassed and angry after dinner. Dangle beckoned her to sit down on the bed so she could take all the pins and flowers out of Sarah's hair.

"Why don't yous sit down and tell me about what happened, maybe then you'll relax some," she offered, and began plucking the sharp pins out of her soft brown locks. Reluctant, but needing to get it out of her, she started the tale.

"It started off simply enough, Ryfe and I were talking…"

_I was listening to Ryfe as he was talking about different tricks he could do on his Pegasus, and what he would be willing to teach me how to do, with Jareth's permission, on Sky's back. We were interrupted by Myrey, who was asking questions to me again, this time about the human world. _

_ "Sarah, I've heard it's true that there are people in the human world who actually dedicate their lives to the study of diseases, is that true"_

_ "Yes, Myrey, it's how humans take care of themselves since we aren't immortal like the Fae." I answered, hoping she would let the subject go. Fae don't normally take well to human conversation, so I was a bit concerned she was asking me about this at all. _

_ "And mental diseases? Them too?" Again I told her it was so, and tried to resume talking to Ryfe, who was far less intimidating anyway. _

_ "So what kind of mental disease is it for a human to wish away babies to a foreign land?" she asked very suddenly, and very loudly to be sure everyone at the table could hear her. Jareth had left for defense reasons, so I was alone in this struggle. _

_ "It's not a mental disease Myrey, it was a mistake I made in my adolescence. Lots of teenagers go through it, most, however, don't have them taken away by a Goblin King who falls in love with them," I shot back, not getting a bit irritated with her that she was trying to show all my flaws to the royals around. _

_ "Most? So you're saying that you're just like all the others in the human world? The King of the Underground fell in love with a commoner? Is that what you are implying?" She continued before I had the chance to respond. _

_ "So you're a commoner with a disease of wishing away your siblings, that happens to most girls in your world? How disgraceful…and then to be taken advantage of and have to be saved by the King? Very interesting," and that's when I snapped. _

_ No one was supposed to have known how I got here, let alone know most things about my past. Before I really thought about my actions I was doing…I took my wine glass and threw it all over her, followed by Ryfe's, and then left the room in a hurry._

"And that's why I'm here now, and too ashamed to go back and fix my mistakes," she finished, just as Dangle pulled the last pin from her hair. She knew it wasn't right how she'd left everything, and that she should, as her royal duty, go back and apologize.

"But why should I have to apologize to that creep when she attacked me!?" Sarah asked angrily. She knew things other people weren't supposed to. The thought began racking her mind, how did Myrey figure out how she'd been taken to the Underground? Only Jareth, herself, and Dangle, aside from the medics, knew. Her heart stopped a beat when she came across that same nagging thought.

_Where was Jareth when Ceylon had arrived? Could he really have been?...No…he couldn't have, he loves me…he's proven that again and again..but then…how else would Myrey have figured it out? To figure out that I'd almost been raped to get here?...if Jareth were truly distracted…and then questioned…he may not notice what he was answering then…_

There were tears beginning in her eyes as she let the thought continue, giving up on exercising mental restraint. The thought of Jareth being with another woman…Sarah knew it had happened before she'd been there, he wasn't perfect on his morals. But he would certainly never cheat on her, right? He had saved her life numerous times, and accepted her back into his kingdom willingly.

Dangle was drawing her bath, and didn't notice the few escapees of salt water trickling down her cheeks. She walked into the bathroom, shrugging her clothes off she sunk low into the tub, and dismissed Dangle in a quiet voice.

"As you wish Miss Sarah," she replied softly, and closed the door gently. Sarah broke down then. Her head was buried tightly into her hands, letting her tears mix with the milky bath water. It made sense in logic; Jareth was preoccupied to notice Ceylon's appearance and in being preoccupied perhaps didn't realize he was answering questions he shouldn't have been.

The more she thought about it, the more the tears flowed, the more she began to believe her own lie. She dipped her face into the water, trying to wash away the redness that was beginning to appear. Letting Jareth see any sign that she had been crying would arouse immediate suspicion. She finished her bath silently, and had just pulled on a small nightgown when there was knock on her door. She frowned slightly, it was after midnight, a bit unusual for guests at this hour. She replied a enter and the door opened slowly, Dangle walking in.

She laughed at herself, "I didn't expect to see you this late." Dangle smiled apologetically.

"I knows you left dinner real early likes, so I figured I'd bring you something to snack on before bed, if that's alright," she said and set the silver platter of warm food on a table by the fireplace, it was always surprisingly cold at night in the Underground. Sarah reached gratefully for the food, her stomach was rather hungry after leaving dinner so early.

"And about what yous ways sayin earlier," Dangle said as she was leaving, "I woulda done the same thing." She smiled and left.

Sarah enjoyed the rest of her food, and climbed into her bed, tired from the day's ending. She felt as though she had barely closed her eyes when she was suddenly awake again, feeling a hard steel at her neck.

Her breathing quickened, and her heart began racing. The person's breath was just able to tickle the standing hairs on her neck, goosebumps all over her skin.

"Who are you?" she said, frightened now and slowly inching her hand towards the pendant round her neck, it was so dark she doubted he could see her movements anyway. She could feel the person leaning forward, still panicked she held her breath.

"I'm still going to get you someday Sarah, don't you forget it," his icy, cruel voice hissed into her ear. Her eyes widened in fear and she tried to turn around to face him, but felt the cold blade slice into her smooth neck like butter. She felt the pain and tried to scream, but more blood merely poured out of her throat and she was left listening to the maniacal laughter echoing in her ears.

She jolted herself awake, covered in a damp sweat and shuddering. She surveyed the room around her. Her fire place was still going, illuminating the room slightly, and there was the faintest hint of dawn on the horizon. It was all a nightmare, though it certainly felt so real she could still feel the blade against her neck.

Sighing, she laid back down against the pillows and glanced out at the balcony again, this time a figure standing in the corner.  
>"Sarah, I'm worse than a nightmare," he whispered as though talking in her ear, then creeped closer in the darkness, leaving Sarah to scream in fear.<p>

Jareth found himself racing through castle corridors faster than ever, rushing to Sarah. He had been sitting in his study, for most of the evening , discussing the border problems that were growing exponentially, when suddenly a scream so ear piercing had given him a start, but he recognized it instantly.

He didn't bother to knock on the door, he came in to discover Sarah on the floor near the balcony, just now sitting up.

"Sarah, are you alright?" he asked urgently, wrapping his arm around her immediately. She hesitated to tell him, but found herself tripping over her words as she explained it to him.

"In the darkness, h-he-he was there, he was c-c-oming to get me he said," Sarah realized who was holding her then, and pulled away as she remembered her thought from earlier. She pulled herself into the bed more, trembling only slightly now, and feeling more alone than ever. In her world, her family was lost forever, and in this world, the one she loved most felt more distanced now than ever as she continued to listen to her lie.

"Sarah," he whispered quietly as she pulled away, hurt that she hasn't wanted him to touch her for days it seemed. Enough was enough. He narrowed his eyes angrily, and reached out, pulling her towards him roughly.

"Enough, tell me what's wrong. You won't seem to let me near you lately, what's troubling you so much?" he asked brushing the hair out of her crying face, holding on to her face a bit rough. She whimpered and only began to cry more.

"Sarah, talk to me, why are you so upset?"

"Where were…" her voice trailed off again as she tried to speak.

"Sarah?"

"Where were you when Ceylon first appeared!?" she finally managed to yell, and now that she was started, there was no stopping it.

"Why did Myrey know about how I got here!? Why was she missing at the ball for so long?! Were you sleeping with her?! Is that how she knew?!"

He let her continue to yell until she'd gotten everything out, and was willing enough to let him hold her finally.

"Is that what you thought I was doing?" he asked, pain in his voice. He stroked her hair back again.

"Sarah, I could never love anyone but you, you know that," he answered quietly, trying to avoid upsetting her further, though Lord knows he wanted to snap. How could she be so simple minded about this?

"I had to deal with defense issue that suddenly arose, I'm sorry I wasn't there when you needed me dearest, but I would NEVER cheat on you, let alone be with anyone aside from you," he cupped her face more gently.

"Do you understand? Sarah, I love you. No one can compare to you Sarah, and many have tried, believe me. Ceylon will not get his hands on you again, I promise."

She'd calmed down a bit more and was at sniffling now as she buried her face into his shirt. They remained silent for a while, Jareth holding her until he thought she had fallen asleep again. But, when he moved, her hand tightened into his shirt.

"…I threw wine on Myrey at dinner…," she said softly, hoping he would be enraged. He was silent for such a long time, she wondered if he was really that upset. But when she glanced, his face was resisting laughing.

"I know precious, and I would have given everything to have seen that," he answered.


	16. Chapter 16

**Hello my loyal readers! :D I'm so sorry it's been so long since I updated...I really am...i can't believe i neglected it for this long...please forgive me? ;_;** **I feel horrid about it...but as always, read and review please! ;D Yes, there is a massive twist to Ceylon's character at the end of this one. **

Jareth had left her to sleep again at her request, but Sarah had far too much on her mind to sleep now. She pulled her hair into a low ponytail and changed into her "adventure" outfit. Leather pants, white shirt with her corset, and boots that almost reached her knee but had very little (if any) heel to them. The fire had gone out some time ago, but Sarah had refused anyone to come into her room for the time being, Dangle included. Leaning against the stone balcony Sarah watched as the sun was just beginning to peak over the horizon. Her brain was working as quickly as it could to think of what to do.

She sighed. Going down to breakfast was the last thing that she wanted right now. People, fancy and haughty people nonetheless, were something she was planning on avoiding for the remainder of their stay. Blinking she watched as the sung rose and all the shadows were receding;she paused. The shadows were receding to the sunlight, as they always did whenever night ended. Shadows had a weakness, the light. Sarah had done quite a bit of studying ever she'd caught word of the darkness spreading over Jareth's kingdom, and the more she saw it was bothering him, the more serious she realized it was.

Ceylon was connected to whatever the darkness was that was spreading. Sarah had overheard Jareth talking to Ryfe about Ceylon and how he had an impassable power. Jareth couldn't beat him if he tried, he had to find out whatever it was that was the darkness' weakness if he ever wanted to be able to fight off Ceylon, should he decide to come again.

She strolled away for the balcony and began rummaging through every drawer or shelf she had access to, looking for anything that could tell her more about the darkness that was threatening his kingdom.

_Nothing, nothing,…still nothing!_ Sarah thought to herself after sufficiently slamming every door she could find.

"Geez this is frustrating," she sighed and glanced at the closet when a thought came to her.

"This closet is supposed to give me anything I ask for…," she mumbled to herself then figured it would be worth a shot and walked in front of it, holding onto the dark, beautifully crafted handles.

"Give me something about the history of the darkness," Sarah tried, nothing better to ask for came across her mind. There was a small thud and she quickly opened the doors. There was an envelope sitting on the floor of it. She picked it up hesitantly, unsure of what it was she was about to read, but with a deep breath opened it quickly.

_Sarah,_

_You're a very clever girl to think of looking in the closet for your answer._

_Unfortunately, I happened to take all of that information with me the last time we met._

_If you really want to save Jareth's precious kingdom, looks like you're going to need to find me to help you out. _

_Follow where the shadows disappear, until you find the place where they don't stop. _

_Ceylon_

Sarah grit her teeth angrily, but she didn't have a choice it seemed. Jareth wouldn't tell her anything about it, much less allow her to help in anything. With the way Ceylon had left things, keeping Sarah safe under lock and key was his most pressing idea. She glanced outside and noticed the sun was just about to peak over the horizon and shed the shadows away for good. There was hardly any time for her to get ready without alerting Jareth. She was scrambling around like a blind monkey until she stopped and laughed at herself, before walking back over to the dresser.

"I need a bag with everything to survive in it for months, but lightweight." It was a long shot, but hey, wasn't most everything here enchanted anyway? There was a larger rumble and a small thud again. To her delight as she opened the doors a leather bag was there and though it didn't look like it was overflowing, once she peeked inside it would be plenty.

"Now to get out," she walked back over to the balcony and glanced down at the ground. It was a bit higher than she would have liked to jump off of. She whistled instead and waited a few moments. There was a familiar whinny in the distance and she glanced around behind her to make sure she wasn't going to forget anything.

"Oh," she thought and carefully reached around to unclasp the necklace around her.

"Can't have him knowing where I've run off to," she said and set it carefully on the wood nightstand next to the bed, Sky came into sight and whinnied. She gave a sad glance behind her then hurriedly jumped off the balcony, landing on his back with ease.

"Time to follow the shadows," she whispered and pointed Sky to the west, ready to take off at a full gallop.

Sky could feel the energy running through Sarah and he pranced in the sky lightly, eager to be off. Sarah counted her breaths and she watched the sun, in a few moments would be over the hill and causing the shadows to be gone.

"This is it," she whispered and within a heartbeat urged Sky into the fastest gallop he could handle while flying, chasing the shadows of the morning.

Sarah's breath caught in her throat as they flew, slicing through wind like a knife through warm butter; easy and smooth with little or no trace of it ever being cut. The Labyrinth was shifting beneath them as they surged onward to follow the receeding shadows, until they could receed no more.

"Sky, the Labyrinth is shifting like nothing I've ever seen before," she said near his ear as they hurtled on. He twitched his ear in acknowledgment of what she had said. The sandstone was changing places all over the Labyrinth, the pattern becoming more intricate than anything she'd ever witnessed. Her heart beat in her ears, blood pounding in her head making it difficult to focus. But, she could trust Sky. He knew where she wanted to go and was loyal enough to her to take her without hesitation.

The shadows stopped suddenly in the distnce, coming to form a ghostly, black line along the hills. An army prepared for battle, the resemblance was stunning. Sky slowed his pace some, breathing more quickly after the hard run he had just been put through. His coat was dampened slightly as she pet him, giving silent thanks for his speed.

Twisted to look behind at the fading Goblin Castle, a tear slipped down Sarah's eye. Did she really know what she was getting herself into? Was she really strong enough to face whatever was threatening his kingdom? Would she finally be able to prove herself worthy of living here, in the most enchanted kingdom she'd ever heard of, with the man, no, the Goblin King, who had given everything to make sure she was safe and always with him?

She did not know. There was courage burning in her heart, and there was the longing to help bring his kingdom back into balance, no matter the cost. She turned back around, determination set in her face.

No, she wouldn't back down from this. She had already decided what she was going to do, and now she needed to find the strength within herself to go through with it. Sarah's hand absently reached up to her neck, her face falling a bit when she remember she had needed to leave the necklace behind so he couldn't find her. His heart would break when he finds it, worry and fear, all the emotions he had banished for years would either surge forward in a massive attempt to find her, or fall apart and crumble in on himself, as he had before. It was a risk, but it was a necessary risk.

Sarah glanced down to see the darkness just ahead, and reined in Sky to land. Her feet had barely touched the ground when she had already pulled off her bag and had her sword in hand-she had remembered to ask the Labyrinth for it before leaving, knowing it would be key to whatever she was about to go through with.

"You can leave now Sky, go back to the castle, don't speak a word to Jareth," Sarah ordered suddenly. His eyes widened and he softly prodded her with his muzzle as if to say,

_You can't stay here on your own_

"I have to Sky. It's just what must be done. Now go!" she yelled, throwing her arm up in an effort to scare him away. He didn't flinch but dropped his head sadly and turned away. She sighed. Inside of herself she didn't really want to see him leave. He glanced at her, worried as he saw the darkness slowly inching forward. He's eyes almost fiery as he took off, Sarah knew Jareth would learn where she was the instant he returned to the palace, so it was a race against time now.

She focused on the task ahead of her. The black, swirling wall almost seemed to gain in height as she stood there before it. Her hand trembled, but tightened around the sword she carried at her side.

"Ceylon!" she roared into the now hissing wall before her.

"You wanted me here! Now what!?"

Nothing happened. The wall was still inching forward, slowly but moving nonetheless. Irritation grew inside of her, had he dragged her all this way for her to see the evil working its way to her precious love?

Before she could yell again, there was a figure moving amongst the shadows toward her. Goosebumps rose over her skin, and she held her sword ready to fight, it's shape created to fit her palm. It neared closer and closer, she squinted to see something startling appear.

"But…but you can't be," her voice shook and she froze. An evil hiss responds, the shadows grow more restless. Sarah, uncertain of what to do and frozen in fear watches in horror.

"Oh but Sarah, it's what I've always been," the voice said, its tone unnervingly smooth as velvet yet laced with a deadly poison.

Her heart stuttered, her breath came out in short gasps as she tried to make sense of the person in front of her.

"But…everything you've been working for..." her voice trailed off as his lips curled into a devilish smile.

"Welcome to the truth my Precious," he said and reached out his pale, shapely hand.

Unsure of what was overcoming her senses, she felt at ease and calmly reached out to take his, her dear sweet love's hand. She could see his perfect smile, his disheveled hair, his mismatched eyes, and even the darkness dancing around his entire figure. She could not resist though, her legs moved, all of their own accord. Was she breathing? She couldn't tell. Breath nor heartbeat, she could feel none of them.

His dark smile widened and his eyes shifted into a serpent's as her hand fell in his. The dark, evil person flicked his eyes above her head, meeting the gaze of another who also stood there, dumbfounded, but hand tense and ready to attack.

Without another thought, the ghostly, demonic Jareth led his prey into the darkness, and before the Goblin King could rush forward to stop her, the ghostly swirls of black, the army threatening to be unleashed swallowed them whole.

Darkness had swallowed his love.

She'd been blinded by its tricks.

And now he was left, the Goblin King,

To watch as the darkness consumed his dearest into oblivion.


End file.
